SunCast

Everyone agrees we need more distributed energy. The harder question is: who pays for it?
That's the question Molly Bauch has been wrestling with.
As North American Connected Energy Lead at Accenture, Molly helped develop a new model that connects one of the fastest-growing sources of electricity demand with one of the country's biggest energy challenges.
The idea is surprisingly simple.
Data centers need community support and faster paths to power. Millions of low-income households need access to affordable solar and storage. What if those two needs could solve each other?
In this conversation, Molly explains how Accenture, Grid Alternatives, and a growing coalition of partners are creating a playbook that helps data centers invest directly in distributed energy, lowering energy costs for families today while laying the foundation for tomorrow's virtual power plants.
If it scales, this isn't just another financing model. It could reshape how we think about paying for grid infrastructure altogether.
Expect to learn:
🔹 Why one in five American households is now behind on their electricity bill
🔹 How data centers can help fund solar and storage deployment
🔹 Why virtual power plants may outcompete new peaker plants on both cost and speed
🔹 What still has to happen before this model becomes fully bankable
Whether you work in utilities, distributed energy, infrastructure, or data centers, this conversation offers a fresh perspective on one of the biggest questions facing the industry today:
How do we build the grid we need without asking ratepayers to shoulder the entire burden?
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 - team@suncast.me 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

What determines whether a battery project performs safely over its lifetime?
According to Kathleen McCaffery and Jeff Zwijack, the answer has as much to do with process, preparation, and quality assurance as it does with the battery itself.
In this special live SunCast broadcast, Nico Johnson sits down with Kathleen McCaffery, retired Battalion Chief and former Global Fire Liaison for Tesla, and Jeff Zwijack, Associate Director of Energy Storage at Clean Energy Associates, to discuss what hundreds of inspections reveal about battery safety, operational readiness, and risk management across the energy storage industry.
Drawing from hundreds of factory inspections and years of real-world fire response experience, Kathleen and Jeff explore the lessons the industry is learning as battery projects grow larger, more complex, and increasingly important to grid reliability.
From supplier selection and factory acceptance testing to emergency response planning and long-term asset management, this conversation highlights the systems and processes that help prevent problems before they become operational, financial, or reputational risks.
Expect to learn:
🔹 What hundreds of inspections reveal about today's most common battery storage quality challenges
🔹 Why quality assurance extends far beyond the battery itself
🔹 How developers can identify and mitigate risks before equipment reaches the field
🔹 Why local fire departments should be part of every project's planning process
🔹 What industry leaders are learning about building safer, more resilient storage projects
As battery storage becomes an increasingly critical part of the energy transition, the industry's success depends not only on technology, but on the discipline and preparation behind every project.
If you're developing, financing, building, operating, or insuring energy storage assets, this conversation offers practical lessons from two professionals who have spent their careers focused on safety, quality, and risk.
Give it a listen.
Massive Fire at Fredericktown, Mo. Battery Plant
Original Live Broadcast
Download the Report: Most Common BESS Manufacturing Defects of 2024
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 - team@suncast.me 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

There are 43 years of decisions compressed into this episode.
And if you work in energy, utilities, infrastructure, manufacturing, or public policy, it's worth your attention.
Tom Fanning spent four decades at Southern Company, including 13 years as CEO, helping guide one of the largest and most influential power companies in the United States through extraordinary change. Along the way, he oversaw everything from international development and grid modernization to cyber security and the completion of Vogtle, the first new commercial nuclear plant built in America in more than 30 years.
In this special Energy Empire x SunCast collaboration, Jigar Shah and Nico Johnson sit down with Tom to explore what it actually takes to build large-scale infrastructure in America.
If you heard this conversation first on Energy Empire, we're excited to bring it to the SunCast audience as well.
The conversation begins with Vogtle, but quickly expands into a broader discussion about leadership, national competitiveness, energy markets, workforce development, cyber security, and the future of the electric grid.
Tom shares why he believes "vision and courage" remain the most important ingredients in building transformational projects, why organized electricity markets struggle to support long-duration infrastructure investments, and why America needs a coherent national energy strategy if it hopes to meet growing demand from AI, manufacturing, and electrification.
Expect to learn:
🔹 Why Tom believes America has lost the ability to build major infrastructure projects efficiently
🔹 The two words he credits for completing Vogtle despite bankruptcy, COVID, and years of setbacks
🔹 Why organized electricity markets struggle to support large-scale nuclear investment
🔹 What workforce shortages reveal about the future of U.S. manufacturing and energy
🔹 How cyber threats have evolved and what keeps utility leaders awake at night
🔹 Why Tom believes energy policy is now inseparable from national security
🔹 What a true national energy strategy would look like and why America needs one
This is not a conversation about technology.
It's a conversation about execution.
About what it takes to align capital, talent, institutions, and political will around projects that take decades to build and generations to benefit from.
If you've ever wondered why some nations seem capable of building at scale while others struggle to move beyond planning, this episode offers one of the clearest perspectives you'll hear all year.
Hit play. One of the most experienced voices in American energy has a lot to say, and he's not wasting any of it.

Leadership transitions reveal what companies value most.
When FTC Solar recently tapped Anthony Carroll as the new CEO, they chose someone who has spent more than two decades helping build some of clean energy's most recognizable companies. From helping scale Power Electronics from a small Spanish manufacturer into a global powerhouse, to leading Powin during a period of extraordinary growth, Anthony has experienced both the excitement and the hard lessons that come with building businesses in rapidly evolving markets.
Now, after stepping away from the industry to lead automated manufacturing initiatives outside of energy, he's back with a new mandate: help guide FTC Solar through its next phase of growth.
In this conversation, Anthony shares lessons from across his career, why this is the right next opportunity for him, and why he believes execution, trust, and innovation will determine which companies thrive in the years ahead.
Expect to learn:
🔹 Why Anthony says "the dream is not enough" when building energy companies
🔹 What he learned scaling businesses through periods of rapid growth and market turbulence
🔹 Why trust and leadership often matter more than product specifications
🔹 How FTC Solar is thinking about automation and the future of utility-scale deployment
Whether you're building projects, leading teams, raising capital, or navigating your own company's next chapter, this conversation offers hard-earned lessons from someone who has lived through multiple cycles of the clean energy transition.
Listen in and hear what FTC Solar's new CEO sees coming next.
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 - team@suncast.me 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

What if the most compelling case for clean energy isn't climate change, economics, or energy independence?
What if it's public health?
Former EPA Administrator Michael Regan has spent his career connecting pollution, environmental protection, and energy policy to the everyday health of American communities. In this special collaboration between SunCast and Energy Empire, Nico Johnson and Jigar Shah sit down with Regan to explore why he viewed the EPA as a public health agency first, and what today's clean energy leaders can learn from communities demanding a greater voice in decisions that affect their lives.
From North Carolina's landmark coal ash settlement to EPA's Journey to Justice initiative, Regan shares how listening to communities reshaped the way he approached enforcement, regulation, and environmental protection. The conversation also tackles one of the industry's most pressing challenges: how to build the infrastructure America needs while maintaining public trust amid rising concerns over affordability, data centers, and rapid load growth.
For developers, investors, policymakers, and industry leaders, this episode offers a timely reminder that successful energy transitions depend not only on technology and capital, but on people.
Expect to learn:
🔹 Why Michael Regan believes the EPA is fundamentally a public health agency
🔹 How community engagement led to stronger environmental enforcement and better outcomes
🔹 What today's data center debates reveal about trust, affordability, and energy planning
🔹 Why clean energy messaging resonates most when framed around health, competitiveness, and national security
Whether you're developing projects, deploying capital, shaping policy, or leading organizations through the energy transition, this conversation offers practical lessons on building trust, finding common ground, and creating solutions that work for everyone.
Listen now to hear one of America's most influential environmental leaders explain why the future of clean energy is ultimately about protecting people.
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 - team@suncast.me 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