BayWa r.e. Solar Town Halls

Topic: Solar financing is a dynamic, rapidly shifting landscape. Whether you’re a residential installer or a commercial-focused EPC, see how you can find partners, financiers, plan great projects, and look ahead to 2022.

Featured guests:

• Michelle Davis, Principal Analyst on U.S. Distributed Solar at Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables
• Bryan White, Research Analyst at Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables
• Gregg Fisher, Senior Director of Business Development at GoodLeap (formerly LoanPal)
• Brad Ferrell, CEO of Enable Energy, part of the BayWa r.e. Global family of renewable energy companies
• Rachel Schapira, Director of Residential Finance here at BayWa r.e. Solar Systems / US
• Guillaume Casanova, Director of Commercial Solutions here at BayWa r.e. Solar Systems / US

Topic: What gets decided in California has broad implications for the rest of the United States. Our June 2021 industry roundtable explains why the Golden State is a policy battleground for our solar installation industry nationwide.

Featured guests:

• Barry Cinnamon, VCEO of Cinnamon Energy Systems in California
• Ben Davis, Policy Associate with the California Solar and Storage Association (CALSSA)
• Jeff Spies, President of Planet Plan Sets
• Aaron Bingham and Kate Collardson, our Product Managers here at BayWa r.e. Solar Systems (USA) and co-hosts of our Solar Tech Talk podcasts.

Topic: As a solar contractor, when should you consider getting outside help for sales origination? Our expert roundtable weighs in on the pitfalls and positives on working with sales channel partners.

Featured guests:

• Valarie Serrato, Vice President of Residential Business at Sunworks, Inc.
• James Lee, Director of Enterprise Partnerships and Partner Development at Sunnova Energy Corp.
• Bryan White, Research Analyst at Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables
• Rachel Schapira, Director of Residential Finance at BayWa r.e. Solar Systems (USA)

Topic: We gathered industry leaders to discuss what to expect in 2021 for customer engagement, labor and supply chain, and the business climate for our solar installation industry.

Featured guests:

• Ajulo Othow, Esq., Founder and CEO of EnerWealth Solutions, LLC and Committee Representative at BOSS (Black Owned Solar Services), and Board Member at North Carolina Clean Energy Fund
• Bryan White, Research Analyst at Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables
• David Dunlap, Vice President of Operations at BayWa r.e. Solar Systems
• Vikram Aggarwal, Founder and CEO of EnergySage

Topic: Our guests this week shared their experience and insights regarding actionable steps we all can take to bring residential and commercial solar to under-served communities and overlooked partnerships. What are solar professionals of color experiencing as they establish in our industry? How can be better understand the “financial geography” of individuals and communities we strive to serve, from rural to urban? What can we do to create welcoming spaces for collaboration and start new conversations as solar colleagues?

Featured guests:

• Kenneth Wells, Founder of O&M Solar Services, LLC
• Jason Carney, President of Tennessee Solar Energy Association and CEO of Energy Electives, LLC.
• Dana Sleeper, Director of External Affairs at SEIA
• Ajulo Othow, Founder and CEO of EnerWealth Solutions, LLC and Committee Representative at BOSS (Black Owned Solar Services)
• Heather Houston, VP of People at Mosaic Solar and Steering Committee Representative at Renewables Forward

Topic: Our multidisciplinary lineup for this week’s #SolarTownHall tackled questions like: Can we quantify the factors that lead to solar adoption? What is the interplay between emotions and rationalization in consumer purchasing decisions? Why you might prioritize hiring “empathetic” sales staff. And, of course, what can behavioral science teach us about solar sales?

Featured guests:

• Varun Rai – Professor of the LBJ School and Director of the Energy Institute at University of Texas at Austin.
• Kelsey Ruger – Product and User Experience Executive at Hello Alice.
• Stan Pipkin – Owner of Lighthouse Solar and Principal Architect at Pipkinc.
• Scott Nguyen is the CEO of 17TeraWatts.

Topic: From market demand to supply chain changes to pandemic and wildfire impacts, 2020 has been a journey for contractors with commercial and industrial (C&I) projects. There’s quite a bit to stay apprised of, as everyone manages inventory for the year-end rush and start planning ahead for sales and opportunities in 2021. Fortunately, we covered some key takeaways in this week’s week’s #SolarTownHall — a special commercial solar edition!

Featured guests:

• Michelle Davis, Senior Analyst, US Distributed Solar at Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables
• Alan Russo, Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) at Stem, Inc.
• Aron Hauser, Director, Commercial Solar at Preman Roofing-Solar
• Cale Garamendi, Commercial Project Developer at Sandbar Solar & Electric
• Ben Frank, Director of National Sales – Commercial and Industrial, SolarEdge

Topic: Exploring how contractors can take a proactive approach in understanding safety code — including working with code-setting committees and inspectors — was the theme of this week’s #SolarTownHall.

Featured guests:

Rebekah Hren, Solar Engineer at Air BnB

Ryan Mayfield Founder & CEO at Mayfield Renewables

Matt Paiss, Technical Advisor, Battery Materials & Systems at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Vaughan Woodruff Founder & CEO at Insource Renewables

Topic: Until recently, solar installers suffered from a fractured set of generic software tools with legacy dysfunction and siloed incompatibilities — some for sales, some for design, some for tracking workflow, et cetera. On July 15 we talked with visionaries in the field of solar software for our expert roundtable and explored this exciting future of efficiency and integration, with a focus on new efforts in solar-specific software that are changing the playing field.

Featured Guests:

• Scott Nguyen (@Scott_Vinh) — Co-Founder/CEO, 17TeraWatts
• Jan Rippingale — CEO, Blu Banyan
• Coulton Main — Director of Strategic Partnerships, SOLO
• Joe Marhamati — CFO/VP/Co-Founder, Ipsun Solar
• J.W. Peters — Principal, Solar Power of Oklahoma

Topic: Great companies know that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are principles that genuinely benefit the communities we cultivate and the markets we serve. But how can solar professionals truly walk the talk and hold ourselves accountable to our teammates, our trade, and our society?

Topic: As we enter a new phase of the pandemic, what lessons have we learned? And is there an opportunity to shift how we think about the business of solar?  

Topic: The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the need for solar to adapt to a “low-touch” sales environment. What best practices can contractors adopt for refining messaging and pitches, building customer rapport, and simplifying digital storefronts? What marketing tools, search trends, and calendar deadlines matter for closing solar sales as we head into summer months? We’ll talk with fellow contractors and other expert panelists on our next Solar Town Hall live event on June 3rd.  

Topic: As states and counties consider modifying COVID-19 sheltering restrictions, how can solar contractors prepare to safely put crews back on the job site? What liability, compliance, and industrial hygiene practices need updating? We talked employee safety, operational logistics, and customer assurance with fellow contractors and other expert panelists.