How do you take a 365 kW commercial solar project from a customer conversation to steel in the ground?

In this episode of the Clean Power Hour, Tim Montague goes behind the scenes of a 365 kW commercial solar project for Griffin Beverage in West Branch, Michigan, with Jordan Rhyne of Countryside Energy and Kyle Sinclair of Sinclair Designs & Engineering.

The project brought together domestic-content solar modules, custom racking engineering, structural analysis, field installation lessons, and a challenging interconnection process with Consumers Energy.

Jordan and Kyle walk through what it took to make the project work, including why the customer wanted a truly domestic solar system, how First Solar Series 7 modules changed the racking design, and what the team learned from taking the system from engineering drawings into the field.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How Countryside Energy identified Griffin Beverage as a strong commercial solar customer
• Why the customer prioritized a truly domestically sourced solar array
• How First Solar Series 7 modules created unique racking and engineering challenges
• Why the racking team developed a purpose-built bracket and clip connection
• How structural analysis and FEA helped validate the module-to-racking connection
• What installers need to consider when working with frameless thin-film modules
• Lessons from module handling, breakage, installation speed, and field tolerances
• What EPCs should know before taking on their first First Solar Series 7 project

The 365 kW system was designed to offset 110% of the facility's load, the maximum allowed by Consumers Energy for the project. The team also had to coordinate an upgrade of the site's service transformer from 250 kVA to 500 kVA before the system could be energized.

Connect with Guests

Jordan Rhyne | LinkedIn
Kyle Sinclair | LinkedIn

Learn more about Sinclair Designs & Engineering:
https://www.sinclair-designs.com/

Learn more about Countryside Energy:
https://countryside-energy.com/

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The Clean Power Hour is produced by the Clean Power Consulting Group and created by Tim Montague. Contact us by email: CleanPowerHour@gmail.com

Corporate sponsors who share our mission to speed the energy transition are invited to check out https://www.cleanpowerhour.com/support/

The Clean Power Hour is brought to you by CPS America, maker of North America’s number one 3-phase string inverter, with over 6GW shipped in the US. With a focus on commercial and utility-scale solar and energy storage, the company partners with customers to provide unparalleled performance and service. The CPS America product lineup includes 3-phase string inverters from 25kW to 275kW, exceptional data communication and controls, and energy storage solutions designed for seamless integration with CPS America systems. Learn more at www.chintpowersystems.com

What if your solar system could earn far more by powering AI compute than by selling electricity back to the grid?

In this episode of Clean Power Hour, Tim Montague talks with Karl Andersen, founder and CEO of Lektra, about a different approach to the growing power demands of AI. Lektra places GPU servers alongside distributed energy resources such as solar and batteries, turning homes, businesses, and other energy sites into small-scale data centers.

Instead of exporting excess solar to the grid, an energy host can use that electricity to power GPU workloads and earn revenue from the compute generated. Karl says Lektra typically gives energy hosts 80% of the resulting revenue while retaining 20% for providing the compute marketplace and infrastructure.

The conversation explores why rapidly growing AI demand is exposing limitations in today's electric grid, and whether distributed energy, microgrids, batteries, and edge computing could form part of a more decentralized Grid 2.0.

In this episode, Tim and Karl discuss:

• Why AI is creating a new market for distributed energy

• How Lektra turns solar and other energy assets into edge-scale data centers

• The economics of selling compute instead of electricity

• How Lektra's 80/20 revenue-sharing model works

• Why edge computing could benefit autonomous vehicles, robotics, logistics, and physical AI

• How distributed compute could help address data-center grid constraints

• Lektra's approach to data sovereignty and on-premises AI

• What a more decentralized energy system could look like over the next several decades

The future of AI will require enormous amounts of energy. This conversation explores whether some of that demand can be met where energy is already being generated, and whether compute can provide the economic incentive to build a more distributed and resilient energy system.

Connect with Karl Andersen, Lektra

Karl Andersen | LinkedIn

Lektra - Powering Intelligence

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The Clean Power Hour is produced by the Clean Power Consulting Group and created by Tim Montague. Contact us by email: CleanPowerHour@gmail.com

Corporate sponsors who share our mission to speed the energy transition are invited to check out https://www.cleanpowerhour.com/support/

The Clean Power Hour is brought to you by CPS America, maker of North America’s number one 3-phase string inverter, with over 6GW shipped in the US. With a focus on commercial and utility-scale solar and energy storage, the company partners with customers to provide unparalleled performance and service. The CPS America product lineup includes 3-phase string inverters from 25kW to 275kW, exceptional data communication and controls, and energy storage solutions designed for seamless integration with CPS America systems. Learn more at www.chintpowersystems.com

America may need more than 230 GW of new power capacity through 2030. Regulated utilities are expected to deliver only about 93 GW. So where does the rest come from?

Tim Montague takes that question to Sylvia Leyva Martinez, Director of North America Utility-Scale Solar at Wood Mackenzie, on a crossover with her show Interchange Recharged. They work the gap from opposite ends of the industry: utility-scale generation versus C&I, community solar, storage, and microgrids.

They cover safe harbor strategy under the ITC phase-out, how projects get financed, and how the AI data center boom reshapes demand. Tim makes his case that distributed energy deploys faster than the interconnection queue allows, and lands on his thesis that the future grid is a grid of microgrids.

Tim and Sylvia work the gap between what the U.S. needs and what utilities will build:

• Where does utility scale end and distributed generation begin?
• How does the ITC phase-out drive the safe harbor rush?
• Why do most C&I projects skip PPAs for commercial loans?
• What does the 230 versus 93 gigawatt gap mean for developers?
• Which states give community solar its strongest footing?
• Why does Tim believe the future is a grid of microgrids?

Links
Interchange Recharged | Wood Mackenzie
Climate Restoration Book — Peter Fiekowsky
Sylvia Leyva Martinez | LinkedIn

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The Clean Power Hour is produced by the Clean Power Consulting Group and created by Tim Montague. Contact us by email: CleanPowerHour@gmail.com

Corporate sponsors who share our mission to speed the energy transition are invited to check out https://www.cleanpowerhour.com/support/

The Clean Power Hour is brought to you by CPS America, maker of North America’s number one 3-phase string inverter, with over 6GW shipped in the US. With a focus on commercial and utility-scale solar and energy storage, the company partners with customers to provide unparalleled performance and service. The CPS America product lineup includes 3-phase string inverters from 25kW to 275kW, exceptional data communication and controls, and energy storage solutions designed for seamless integration with CPS America systems. Learn more at www.chintpowersystems.com

G&W Electric's vanadium flow + flywheel microgrid matched a full year of frequency regulation revenue in under three months

Vanadium flow batteries rarely anchor a commercial microgrid, but G&W Electric built one around a solar, battery, and flywheel system at its Bolingbrook, Illinois headquarters. John Gounaris, VP of Global Marketing, and John Pederson, Principal Staff Engineer and the project's manager, walk Tim Montague through the build.

G&W Electric manufactures switches, reclosers, and grid automation gear used across US utility grids, and its 121-year-old campus needed resilient power to protect production. The project runs on Intelligent Generation's earn, save, protect framework: earn through frequency regulation, save on capacity charges, protect with backup power. Tim presses the guests on capex, opex, and why they skipped lithium-ion.

The conversation covers real storm performance in 2026, revenue swings, and how domestic vanadium sourcing shaped the battery choice.

Gounaris and Pederson explain the choices behind one of the few flywheel microgrids in operation:

• Why did G&W skip lithium-ion for a vanadium flow battery?
• How does a flywheel hold full building load for 62 seconds?
• What earned G&W more in 10 weeks than all last year?
• How much of an industrial bill do capacity charges reach?
• Which US source supplied the vanadium, and why does it matter?
• How did the microgrid perform during the 2026 Chicago storms?

Connect with Guests

John Gounaris | LinkedIn

John Pederson | LinkedIn

G&W Electric | Innovative Power Grid Solutions & Electrical Systems

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The Clean Power Hour is produced by the Clean Power Consulting Group and created by Tim Montague. Contact us by email: CleanPowerHour@gmail.com

Corporate sponsors who share our mission to speed the energy transition are invited to check out https://www.cleanpowerhour.com/support/

The Clean Power Hour is brought to you by CPS America, maker of North America’s number one 3-phase string inverter, with over 6GW shipped in the US. With a focus on commercial and utility-scale solar and energy storage, the company partners with customers to provide unparalleled performance and service. The CPS America product lineup includes 3-phase string inverters from 25kW to 275kW, exceptional data communication and controls, and energy storage solutions designed for seamless integration with CPS America systems. Learn more at www.chintpowersystems.com

Speed to power: Bala Ramamurthy of Critical Loop on cutting grid connection from years to days with modular microgrids.

Speed to power is the problem Critical Loop was built to solve. Bala Ramamurthy is the founder and CEO of Critical Loop, a California modular microgrid company that brings megawatts to industrial facilities and data centers when a utility interconnection is years away. Before energy, Bala spent 12 years at SpaceX as chief engineer on the first human spaceflight mission, and he applies that same high-reliability systems thinking to the grid.

This conversation covers how their Cygnus controller orchestrates batteries and on-site generation to close the gap between what a utility can deliver and what a site needs. Tim pushes Bala on the hard questions: whether Critical Loop competes for scarce batteries, and why a site like San Diego International Airport needs them at all. It matters now because load growth is outpacing what the grid can build.

Here is what this conversation reveals about closing the gap between grid capacity and industrial demand:

• How do you power a 20-megawatt site when the utility offers seven?
• Why does a rocket engineer see the grid as the same problem as a launch?
• What does Critical Loop's Cygnus controller actually do on site?
• When does a temporary bridge microgrid become a permanent asset?
• Why does San Diego International Airport need Critical Loop at all?
• What keeps a founder up at night as load growth outpaces the grid?

Critical Loop is betting that the fastest way to add power is not to build more grid, but to orchestrate what a site already has. Bala Ramamurthy makes the case that a controller, batteries, and on-site generation can close the gap between what a utility delivers and what a factory or data center needs, turning a years-long interconnection wait into weeks.

For anyone building, financing, or powering industrial load right now, this conversation is a look at how speed to power becomes a business.

Connect with Guest:

Balachandar Ramamurthy | LinkedIn

Critical Loop Website

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The Clean Power Hour is produced by the Clean Power Consulting Group and created by Tim Montague. Contact us by email: CleanPowerHour@gmail.com

Corporate sponsors who share our mission to speed the energy transition are invited to check out https://www.cleanpowerhour.com/support/

The Clean Power Hour is brought to you by CPS America, maker of North America’s number one 3-phase string inverter, with over 6GW shipped in the US. With a focus on commercial and utility-scale solar and energy storage, the company partners with customers to provide unparalleled performance and service. The CPS America product lineup includes 3-phase string inverters from 25kW to 275kW, exceptional data communication and controls, and energy storage solutions designed for seamless integration with CPS America systems. Learn more at www.chintpowersystems.com

Section 232 tariffs are reshaping solar module pricing across the United States. Tim Montague and co-host John Weaver sit down with returning guest Chris Lettman, a solar module supply chain and technology expert with Imperial Star Solar.

Chris explains why the new policy works as a price floor, not a simple tariff, setting a minimum import price plus a 15 percent tax on cells, wafers, and modules. The three break down domestic cell shortages, First Solar litigation, and how developers hedge against monthly price hikes.

Anyone buying solar panels before the December 4 deadline needs this pricing and procurement picture.

Chris Lettman answers the pricing questions every solar buyer is asking before December 4:

• Why is Section 232 a price floor instead of a normal tariff?
• How much do imported, hybrid, and fully domestic modules now cost per watt?
• Which companies make solar cells in the U.S. today?
• How is John Weaver stockpiling modules to beat rising prices?
• Why does only PERC ship domestically while TOPCon stays blocked?
• What happens to overseas module factories after December 4?

Section 232 changes the math for every solar buyer heading into 2027. The tariffs raise prices across all three module tiers and close the gap between imported and domestic panels, with fully imported modules near 45 cents per watt and fully domestic near 53. Imports look set to stop around December 4, domestic cell supply stays tight behind ES Foundry and Saniva, and buyers like John Weaver are stockpiling now to beat monthly price hikes. Tim, John, and Chris disagree on whether the policy drives real U.S. manufacturing or adds cost and friction, but they agree on the takeaway: know your pricing tiers, lock in supply early, and plan procurement through 2027 before the next increase hits.

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The Clean Power Hour is produced by the Clean Power Consulting Group and created by Tim Montague. Contact us by email: CleanPowerHour@gmail.com

Corporate sponsors who share our mission to speed the energy transition are invited to check out https://www.cleanpowerhour.com/support/

The Clean Power Hour is brought to you by CPS America, maker of North America’s number one 3-phase string inverter, with over 6GW shipped in the US. With a focus on commercial and utility-scale solar and energy storage, the company partners with customers to provide unparalleled performance and service. The CPS America product lineup includes 3-phase string inverters from 25kW to 275kW, exceptional data communication and controls, and energy storage solutions designed for seamless integration with CPS America systems. Learn more at www.chintpowersystems.com

Clean energy company culture is what separates good solar EPCs from great ones, and Mynt CEO Derek Hansen has a name for how he builds it: inspire, empower, support.

Company culture in the solar and storage industry gets talked about far less than it should, and this episode makes the case for why that needs to change.

Derek Hansen is CEO and co-founder of Mynt, a vertically integrated development, engineering, and construction firm that builds solar and battery storage projects for commercial real estate owners and other solar developers. Tim Montague hosts this conversation, framing it around a question that gets skipped in the industry: what actually separates a good company from a great one.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why Mynt is shifting its project mix from mostly solar toward majority battery storage
• How Derek Hansen's inspire, empower, support philosophy drives EPC leadership
• What personality assessments and one-on-one conversations reveal about a team member's strongest work
• How Mynt built a buddy system to pair complementary skill sets on project teams
• Why Mynt chose to unionize its install crews under IBEW after California's new prevailing wage mandate
• The reason Hansen ties personal significance and legacy to day-to-day work at a growing EPC

If you work in solar, storage, microgrids, or the broader energy transition, this conversation offers practical insights into building stronger teams, creating meaningful company cultures, and preparing for the next phase of distributed energy.

Connect with Derek

Derek Hansen | LinkedIn

MYNT

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The Clean Power Hour is produced by the Clean Power Consulting Group and created by Tim Montague. Contact us by email: CleanPowerHour@gmail.com

Corporate sponsors who share our mission to speed the energy transition are invited to check out https://www.cleanpowerhour.com/support/

The Clean Power Hour is brought to you by CPS America, maker of North America’s number one 3-phase string inverter, with over 6GW shipped in the US. With a focus on commercial and utility-scale solar and energy storage, the company partners with customers to provide unparalleled performance and service. The CPS America product lineup includes 3-phase string inverters from 25kW to 275kW, exceptional data communication and controls, and energy storage solutions designed for seamless integration with CPS America systems. Learn more at www.chintpowersystems.com

Solar asset management inside a 35-year ownership model: CJ Colavito and Jay Smith of Standard Solar explain what it actually takes to own distributed generation projects for decades, from evaluating tracker and inverter reliability to redesigning inverter specs around eventual failure.

In this episode of Clean Power Hour, Tim Montague sits down with CJ Colavito, General Manager of Integrated Project Teams, and Jay Smith, VP of Operations and Maintenance and Asset Management, to discuss what they have learned from developing, building, owning, and operating commercial and community solar projects.

The conversation goes deep on one of the biggest challenges facing the solar industry: how to balance cost, performance, reliability, and long-term asset value.

Tim, CJ, and Jay also discuss:

• Why thorough project diligence can reduce delays, change orders, and budget overruns

• Standard Solar's integrated project team model and its focus on execution excellence

• The challenges of rooftop solar and why project scale matters

• Connector reliability, wire management, and lessons from thermal events

• What Standard Solar looks for when selecting tracker technology

• Tracker reliability, maintenance, snow shedding, and hail protection

• Standard Solar's approach to inverter selection and long-term reliability

• Why inverter failures can have a much greater financial impact than the initial equipment cost

• The importance of manufacturer support and warranties over the life of a project

• How changing supply-chain and foreign entity requirements are affecting equipment decisions

• Adding AC-coupled batteries to existing community solar projects

• How Standard Solar is adapting its business as the solar market and technology continue to evolve

The episode comes at an important moment for the industry. As solar portfolios grow and assets age, the focus is increasingly shifting from simply adding megawatts to ensuring those assets can perform reliably over the long term.

Listen to the full conversation for an inside look at how an experienced solar owner-operator thinks about technology, reliability, O&M, project execution, and the future of distributed solar.

Connect with Guest

Jay Smith LinkedIn

CJ Colavito LinkedIn

Standard Solar Website

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The Clean Power Hour is produced by the Clean Power Consulting Group and created by Tim Montague. Contact us by email: CleanPowerHour@gmail.com

Corporate sponsors who share our mission to speed the energy transition are invited to check out https://www.cleanpowerhour.com/support/

The Clean Power Hour is brought to you by CPS America, maker of North America’s number one 3-phase string inverter, with over 6GW shipped in the US. With a focus on commercial and utility-scale solar and energy storage, the company partners with customers to provide unparalleled performance and service. The CPS America product lineup includes 3-phase string inverters from 25kW to 275kW, exceptional data communication and controls, and energy storage solutions designed for seamless integration with CPS America systems. Learn more at www.chintpowersystems.com