SunCast

Rebuilding solar manufacturing in the U.S. is not just about capital or policy. It is about making the right bets at the right time.
It comes down to timing, experience, and the critical decisions.
Alex Zhu has spent nearly two decades inside the global solar manufacturing system—from the early rise of Chinese production to failed U.S. factory attempts, and now to building one of the few solar cell manufacturing facilities in America through ES Foundry.
In this conversation, Alex explains why he focused on solar cells instead of modules. Module assembly scaled quickly after the IRA. Cell manufacturing remained limited, even though it sits at the center of the supply chain. But that gap is precisely where Alex recognized his greatest strength.
Experience.
But the ensuing decisions (bets) he made carry real risk.
He is betting that the U.S. cannot sustain a domestic solar industry without cell production. He is also building on proven PERC technology, even as the global market moves toward TOPCon. And he is relying on speed, execution, and hard-won experience to make that strategy work.
We also get into how his past shaped these decisions, what has changed since earlier U.S. factory failures, how the IRA shifted the economics, and what it actually takes to build a factory, from permitting and infrastructure to workforce and community impact.
Expect to learn:
🔹 Why solar cells—not modules—are the real constraint in U.S. manufacturing
🔹 How Alex’s past factory experience shaped his strategy today
🔹 Why ES Foundry chose PERC, and how he thinks about the shift to TOPCon
🔹 What family office investors understood about this opportunity
🔹 What it really takes to build—and sustain—a solar factory in the U.S.
This is a bet on how the industry gets rebuilt. Listen and decide if you agree.
Are there other technologies you’ve scouted on the frontlines of the Clean Energy Revolution that you think we should be covering here on SunCast?
Hit us up - [email protected] with your feedback & recommendations.
If you want to connect with today's guest, you’ll find links to their contact info in the show notes on the blog at https://suncast.media/episodes/.
Our Platinum Presenting Sponsor for SunCast is CPS America!
SunCast is also sponsored by Nextpower!
You can learn more about all the sponsors who help make this show free for you at www.suncast.media/sponsors.
Remember, you can always find resources, learn more about today’s guest and explore recommendations, book links, and more than 875 other founder stories and startup advice at www.suncast.media.
Subscribe to Valence, our weekly LinkedIn Newsletter, and learn the elements of compelling storytelling: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/valence-content-that-connects-7145928995363049472/
You can connect with me, Nico Johnson, on:
Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/nicomeo
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickalus

Are data centers starting to bypass the grid?
A growing share of planned projects are pairing with behind-the-meter generation, and the shift has happened quickly. At the same time, there’s still real debate about how much of this will actually materialize.
Michael Thomas, founder of Cleanview, tracks what moves through interconnection queues, permitting timelines, and development pipelines. His data highlights how developers are responding to rising demand, tighter timelines, and increasing grid constraints.
In this conversation, Michael shares what he’s seeing in the data, where demand is growing fastest, and how different generation strategies are being considered to meet it.
If you’re trying to understand how data center growth is shaping project decisions, this episode offers a grounded look at what’s emerging.
Are there other technologies you’ve scouted on the frontlines of the Clean Energy Revolution that you think we should be covering here on SunCast?
Hit us up - [email protected] with your feedback & recommendations.
If you want to connect with today's guest, you’ll find links to their contact info in the show notes on the blog at https://suncast.media/episodes/.
Our Platinum Presenting Sponsor for SunCast is CPS America!
SunCast is also sponsored by Nextpower!
You can learn more about all the sponsors who help make this show free for you at www.suncast.media/sponsors.
Remember, you can always find resources, learn more about today’s guest and explore recommendations, book links, and more than 875 other founder stories and startup advice at www.suncast.media.
Subscribe to Valence, our weekly LinkedIn Newsletter, and learn the elements of compelling storytelling: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/valence-content-that-connects-7145928995363049472/
You can connect with me, Nico Johnson, on:
Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/nicomeo
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickalus

Most people [who have been in the industry awhile] have opinions about SunEdison.
This is one of the first times Ahmad Chatila and Jigar Shah have sat down together to compare notes on how it actually played out.
Both were inside it.
Both made the bets.
Both saw things others didn’t.
In this conversation, the two leaders who helped build one of solar’s most ambitious companies sit down to examine how it actually worked and why it did not hold.
They walk through the operating logic that made SunEdison so competitive. Using semiconductor-style cost modeling to see price declines before the market. Making audacious bets on equipment inputs. Structuring deals that looked aggressive at the time but consistently won.
Ahmad explains how lessons from silicon manufacturing shaped that thinking and created a real edge.
But they also get clear on what ultimately determined the outcome.
The strategy worked.
The cost curve was real.
The execution was there.
What broke was the financial architecture behind it.
A capital structure that depended on continuous demand.
A global footprint that introduced currency and market friction.
And a model that moved faster than investors were willing to follow.
In this live conversation, Ahmad Chatila joins Jigar Shah and Nico Johnson for a candid look at the decisions, convictions, and missteps that helped shape one of the most consequential chapters in clean energy history.
This is not a sanitized founder story. It is a rare, honest reflection on what worked, what failed, and why the hardest problem in clean energy may still be capital formation, not technology.
You will hear how Ahmad anticipated solar cost declines years ahead of the market, why he determined that owning the PPA mattered more than owning construction, and how TerraForm Global became the critical fault line in SunEdison’s collapse.
The conversation also reaches far beyond the past, into the future of India, currency risk, and the global financing models that still need to be built if clean energy is going to scale where it is needed most.
It’s one of the most fascinating conversations Nico has had the opportunity to co-lead (and eaves-drop on!)
Solar may be cheap, but capital still decides what gets built.
If you’re trying to scale projects, raise money, or understand where deals actually break, this is worth your time.
Press play and decide what you would have done differently.
Are there other technologies you’ve scouted on the frontlines of the Clean Energy Revolution that you think we should be covering here on SunCast?
Hit us up - [email protected] with your feedback & recommendations.
If you want to connect with today's guest, you’ll find links to their contact info in the show notes on the blog at https://suncast.media/episodes/.
Our Platinum Presenting Sponsor for SunCast is CPS America!
SunCast is also sponsored by Nextpower!
You can learn more about all the sponsors who help make this show free for you at www.suncast.media/sponsors.
Remember, you can always find resources, learn more about today’s guest and explore recommendations, book links, and more than 875 other founder stories and startup advice at www.suncast.media.
Subscribe to Valence, our weekly LinkedIn Newsletter, and learn the elements of compelling storytelling: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/valence-content-that-connects-7145928995363049472/
You can connect with me, Nico Johnson, on:
Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/nicomeo
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickalus

Dean Solon has always been a pattern matcher.
Across projects, conversations, and time in the field, he’s constantly picking up on what’s changing — where pressure is building, where systems start to strain, and where the next opportunity is taking shape.
But seeing the pattern is only half the story.
Joseph Fahrney is the one who has to turn those signals into real products, real partnerships, and real projects — while protecting focus and making sure the right ideas actually get built.
Live from Intersolar, Dean and Joe join Nico Johnson for a conversation about what they’re both seeing right now — and how they’re acting on it.
From integrated system design to plant-wide control, from 10-year warranties to robotics in the field, this is a look at what happens when you trust your read on the market enough to start building ahead of it.
Some might call it a crystal ball.
The difference is — they’re already building what others are just starting to react to.
Expect to learn:
🔹 What patterns are emerging across utility-scale solar projects right now
🔹 How those signals translate into real product and integration decisions
🔹 Why system-level thinking is replacing fragmented design
🔹 What robotics enables when it’s treated as part of the platform
🔹 How durability and execution are shaping buying decisions
By the time these trends feel obvious, the advantage will already be taken.
Are there other technologies you’ve scouted on the frontlines of the Clean Energy Revolution that you think we should be covering here on SunCast?
Hit us up - [email protected] with your feedback & recommendations.
If you want to connect with today's guest, you’ll find links to their contact info in the show notes on the blog at https://suncast.media/episodes/.
Our Platinum Presenting Sponsor for SunCast is CPS America!
SunCast is also sponsored by Nextpower!
You can learn more about all the sponsors who help make this show free for you at www.suncast.media/sponsors.
Remember, you can always find resources, learn more about today’s guest and explore recommendations, book links, and more than 875 other founder stories and startup advice at www.suncast.media.
Subscribe to Valence, our weekly LinkedIn Newsletter, and learn the elements of compelling storytelling: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/valence-content-that-connects-7145928995363049472/
You can connect with me, Nico Johnson, on:
Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/nicomeo
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickalus

You can now plug solar panels into a wall outlet in some states.
No permits. No installer or electrician even required?
Just… plug it in.
So who’s responsible when that system starts sending power back into your home, or the grid?
Plug-in solar is moving faster than the standards designed to govern it. And right now, the rules are still being written.
In this conversation, Nico Johnson sits down with two experts at the center of the process. One is helping shape the National Electrical Code, the other bringing products to market. Together, we unpack what actually needs to happen for this category to scale safely.
This isn’t just a new product [category], it’s a new edge case for the entire ecosystem, one where DIY meets infrastructure, and where the lines between safety, enforcement, and responsibility all begin to blur.
Expect to learn:
🔹 Why states are legalizing plug-in solar even before standards are fully defined
🔹 Where the NEC stands on it today, and what’s coming in the next code cycle
🔹 The real risks around circuit overload, ground faults, and backfeeding
🔹 Why utilities might push back
🔹 How much safety can (and should) be built into the product itself (so we can void unnecessary permitting)
If this works, millions more people can generate their own power.
Press play and help us decide, are we ready for this shift?
Are there other technologies you’ve scouted on the frontlines of the Clean Energy Revolution that you think we should be covering here on SunCast?
Hit us up - [email protected] with your feedback & recommendations.
If you want to connect with today's guest, you’ll find links to their contact info in the show notes on the blog at https://suncast.media/episodes/.
Our Platinum Presenting Sponsor for SunCast is CPS America!
SunCast is also sponsored by Nextpower!
You can learn more about all the sponsors who help make this show free for you at www.suncast.media/sponsors.
Remember, you can always find resources, learn more about today’s guest and explore recommendations, book links, and more than 875 other founder stories and startup advice at www.suncast.media.
Subscribe to Valence, our weekly LinkedIn Newsletter, and learn the elements of compelling storytelling: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/valence-content-that-connects-7145928995363049472/
You can connect with me, Nico Johnson, on:
Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/nicomeo
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickalus