022: [ES] Latam Founders Series: Maximo Solar takes over Isla Del Encanto

According to the US EIA, from July 2012 to April 2015, distributed solar photovoltaic customers quadrupled in Puerto Rico while generating capacity increased by a factor of nine, bringing  distributed solar capacity to 37 megawatts. Electricity fuel surcharges decreased as the price of oil dropped during 2015, but Puerto Rico's retail consumers still paid more for their power than consumers in any state except Hawaii, often exceeding $0.20/kWh!  While many in the solar industry watched in horror as the state-run utility, PREPA, drove the RPS-driven Utility market into the ground, a few local players silently created a veritable distributed generation solar market.  Among those players is Maximo Solar, ranked #146 on the Solar Power World list of the top 500 North America installers, and the leading installer for Puerto Rico, at least in 2015, with >30% market share.

Bienvenidos and Welcome to Episode 22 of SunCast, and Episode 4 in the Latam Founders Series, which is being brought to you through a special collaboration with Enphase Energy.  We're rockin with this new Series, having a lot of fun, and as I mentioned 2 weeks ago, some of them are in English, and some are in Spanish.  Today's episode is another in Spanish, as you can see in the Title by that little "ES" in brackets.

In this episode, you'll meet Maximo Torres, founder of Maximo Solar in Puerto Rico, along with his GM, Jonattan Martir.  Today's episode was actually recorded live in Las Vegas back in September during the annual Solar Power Int'l conference.

I call Maximo the Solar philosopher, and it's true.  He has an infectious passion for solar, and it's no surprise that his company is one of the strongest in the Puerto Rico market. I've never met another solar founder who was this effusive about his beliefs in self-improvement, the state of the energy sector broadly, and the fundamentals of building a good business.

There are some real goodies in here, so take some time to listen intently, as we discuss:

Choosing between the large utility-scale markets, C&I or Residential

• The importance of having a growth mindset, and the resulting view on competition

• The value of being extremely customer-centric

• One internal tool they've used multiple times to expand beyond their current product offering into profitable new segments

• The two most important people in a solar company, and aligning corporate values around them

• And so, so much more

We hope you get a ton of value from today’s episode, but if are interested in learning more about Maximo and his team, I encourage you to visit their website or their Facebook Page.

If you like what you see and hear, please SHARE it with this pre-filled tweet!

And be sure to check out all the rest of the episodes in this Latam Founder series - stay tuned!!!

Resources in today's episode:

* US Energy Information Association source page on Puerto Rico

Solar Power World top 500 Installers in North America ranking

Maximo Solar Website

Maximo Solar Facebook page

Maximo Torres on LinkedIn

Jonattan Matir on LinkedIn

Green Energy Fund, Fondo de Energia Verde

Comision de Energia de Puerto Rico

Autoridad de Energia Electrica, Data 1999-2015

Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority

Oficina Estatal de Politica Publica Energetica

Puerto Rico Infrastructure Financing Authority

About the Author:

Nico Johnson is the creator and host of SunCast, a regular conversation with Solar Industry professionals who are leading in emerging solar markets.  The content of the show is geared towards listeners looking for insights on where the markets are headed, how to position themselves or their companies, and what today's market leaders do to stay ahead of the pack.

Nico is a 10-year veteran of the solar industry, having led development in the US and Latin America for global companies like Trina Solar and Conergy.  He served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala and is considered one of the market's leading experts on solar PV expansion in the region.

Nico can be reached on Linked In https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickalus

or by email nico@mysuncast.com

021: Jake Hoppe on the secret sauce that landed some of Enphase Energy’s early Latam customers

Bienvenidos and Welcome to Episode 21 of SunCast, and Episode 3 in the Latam Founders Series, which is being brought to you through a special collaboration with Enphase Energy.  Today we have a slight departure from the usual format.  No, it's not in Spanish like last week's episode, but it also doesn't follow the typical question flow I've used in the first 20 episodes. In prep for the interviews in this series, I asked my friend Luis over at Enphase if there was anyone on his team who was able to articulate well the challenges they come across in the field, especially from the perspective of financing for C&I customers.  He pointed me to Jake Hoppe.  And after you hear today's conversation, you'll understand why.  I was originally going to use my call with Jake just to backfill with some soundbites on the episodes (like Episode 17 with Jose Zambrano) as a way to provide a third voice explaining some of the intricacies of financing C&I deals.  But after I heard the interview again, I knew it was plenty good enough to stand on its own merits.  

Today on SunCast, you'll meet Jake Hoppe, who is currently working in Business Development for Spruce Finance, but Jake got his start in the solar industry at Enphase.  

And from what I can tell, he was instrumental in helping get some of their pivotal early deals across the finish line in Latin America.  He's also been very hands-on with areas of the business like working with underwriters (think Moody's) on evaluating the underlying risks of assets Enphase had deployed for large IPPs looking to go public.  I've said it before, but you'll want to take notes on this one.  If you're anything like me, you'll have to go back and listen to it again as Jake dispels wisdom at almost every turn in the conversation.

Jake and I discuss:

• Some of the difficult problems his team was able to help customers solve in the field.

• Where you can look to better understand what he calls the Gold Standard in conservative best practices in valuing solar systems

• The fundamental elements of project underwriting for financing C&I deals

• The one question that could radically change a company’s ability to scale - or put a  different way, the wrong versus the right way to think about how you value the inputs to your IRR and margin calculations

I am supremely positive you’re going to get a ton of value from today’s episode.

If you like what you hear, please SHARE it!

And be sure to check out all the rest of the episodes in this Latam Founder series - stay tuned!!!

Resources in this episode:

(will upload a link to one of the presale Sheets Jake mentioned, shortly)

About SunCast Author:

Nico Johnson is the creator and host of SunCast, a regular conversation with Solar Industry professionals who are leading in emerging solar markets.  The content of the show is geared towards listeners looking for insights on where the markets are headed, how to position themselves or their companies, and what today's market leaders do to stay ahead of the pack.

Nico is a 10-year veteran of the solar industry, having led development in the US and Latin America for global companies like Trina Solar and Conergy.  He served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala and is considered one of the market's leading experts on solar PV expansion in the region.

Nico can be reached at nico@mysuncast.com

020: [ES] Latam Founders Series: Julian Willenbrock, Enlight Mexico’s rebrand is just the beginning

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Bienvenidos and Welcome to Episode 20 of SunCast, and Episode 2 in the Latam Founders Series, which is being brought to you through a special collaboration with Enphase Energy.  If you didn’t have a chance to hear the setup episode last week, go back and check out Episode 16, as I speak with Luis Morales at Enphase about why we wanted to collaborate on this specific series of conversations.

As you may have noticed in the show title - today’s episode, and several others in the series, is completely in Spanish, si, totalmente en espanol.  One of the ideas I'm exploring with Enphase's support is whether there is an audience for our content in Spanish.  So, if you don't speak or understand Spanish, you’ll want to key in on the [ES] in the show title, just like today's which let’s you now ahead of time - they're totally in Spanish.

If that is you, and you don’t speak Spanish - have no fear, b/c I’ll also be releasing some minisodes like the one I did this past Wednesday with Rod Barfield.  The content will vary, but it will be a bite-sized morsel of sunshine, in English, to brighten your week!  If that’s you, or if you missed it, go back and listen to that one instead, it’s only 15 min.

So, more about Enlight:  

Julian and his partner Roberto founded the company as Enerclima several years ago, but in 2016 they took on investment and rebranded the company as Enlight, aimed at taking a leadership role in the Distributed solar market in Mexico.

Julian and I discuss lots of things particular to their business as well as the Mexico market generally:

• History of Enlight's foundation, formation, growth and inflection points.

• Role and/or importance of technology in scaling the business

• details around how Enlight has overcome obstacles and roadblocks to deploying projects, to growing the company

• Financed systems as a means for growth (vs turnkey ownership)

We hope you get a ton of value from today’s episode, but are interested in learning more about Enlight, I encourage you to visit their website or their Facebook Page.

If you like what you hear, please SHARE it!

And be sure to check out all the rest of the episodes in this Latam Founder series - stay tuned!!!

Julian's Bold Prediction:

In the next year, a clear #1 player will emerge in the Mexico DG Solar space!

Habits he practices that improve his life and business:

He has learned to "turn it off" when he leaves work.
He loves travel and having fun outside of work, especially in sports-related activiteis like playing Paddle Tennis
And an amazing habit he has developed that is rather un-latino - he credits the habit of Punctuality as a key marker to his success!
 

Resources in this episode:

Enlight website

you can email Julian

Books:

Hard thing about Hard Things - Ben Horowitz

The Power of Habit - Charles Duhick

The Founder's Dilemmas - Noam Wasserman

About SunCast Author:

Nico Johnson is the creator and host of SunCast, a regular conversation with Solar Industry professionals who are leading in emerging solar markets.  The content of the show is geared towards listeners looking for insights on where the markets are headed, how to position themselves or their companies, and what today's market leaders do to stay ahead of the pack.

Nico is a 10-year veteran of the solar industry, having led development in the US and Latin America for global companies like Trina Solar and Conergy.  He served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala and is considered one of the market's leading experts on solar PV expansion in the region.

Nico can be reached at nico@mysuncast.com

019: Mini with Rod Barfield, Brazil Market Update

A few weeks ago we published Episode 15 with my friend Rodrigo Barfield of Long Light Energy.  Last year in 2016, he had moved back to Brazil to run his new company, and we discussed his thoughts on the market. As with many startups, things don’t always go as planned, and I hinted at the end of the show that Rod had an update pending.

In this episode of SunCast, we have a followup call with Rodrigo.  While he is still actively developing business in Brazil, he has made the decision to return to the US.  Today we discuss Rod’s thoughts on the state of Brazil in 2017, what it would take for the market to be "ready" for his project pipeline, as well as why he believes the US market is hotter than ever, especially for DG finance.

As always, If you like what you hear, please SHARE it!

About the Author:

Nico Johnson is the creator and host of SunCast, a regular conversation with Solar Industry professionals who are leading in emerging solar markets.  The content of the show is geared towards listeners looking for insights on where the markets are headed, how to position themselves or their companies, and what today's market leaders do to stay ahead of the pack.

Nico is a 10-year veteran of the solar industry, having led development in the US and Latin America for global companies like Trina Solar and Conergy.  He served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala and is considered one of the market's leading experts on solar PV expansion in the region.

Nico can be reached on Linked In https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickalus

or by email nico@mysuncast.com

018: Q1 2017 Latam PV Playbook with Manan Parikh of GTM Research

In this episode of SunCast, you'll meet Manan Parikh of GTM Research.  Many of you already know who Manan is, but, for the uninitiated, Manan is the analyst at GTM who authors their quarterly Latam PV Playbook - basically the bible on all-things-solar for Latin America from market size and potential, to who, specifically, is doing what in each region.  I love catching up with Manan, as he always has his finger on the pulse of what's hot in the region.  And this week he's fresh off publishing the latest quarterly report.  

In today’s episode, Manan shares his predictions for markets like Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, and more.  You'll want to listen to all 60 minutes of this interview, as Manan is one of the industry experts on where the market is trending and what to look out for.

He gets into specific detail about Argentina right out of the gate (the entire first 10 minutes!), so you'll want to tune in if you're at all curious whether that market will meet expectations for the Year of Renewable Energy they've declared!

If you like what you hear, please SHARE it!

And thank you for continuing to help make SunCast one of the most listened-to solar podcasts!

Resources shared in this Episode:

GTM Research Q1 Latam PV Playbook -  https://www.greentechmedia.com/research/subscription/latin-america-pv-playbook

Andrew Beebe's article long tail of smaller installers https://medium.com/obvious-ventures/the-revenge-of-the-long-tail-9f80fa93bf25#.xbxpd245a

About the Author:

Nico Johnson is the creator and host of SunCast, a regular conversation with Solar Industry professionals who are leading in emerging solar markets.  The content of the show is geared towards listeners looking for insights on where the markets are headed, how to position themselves or their companies, and what today's market leaders do to stay ahead of the pack.

Nico is a 10-year veteran of the solar industry, having led development in the US and Latin America for global companies like Trina Solar and Conergy.  He served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala and is considered one of the market's leading experts on solar PV expansion in the region.

Nico can be reached at nico@mysuncast.com

017: Latam Founders Series: Jose Zambrano, Galt Energy

In this episode of SunCast, I'd like to introduce you to my friend, Jose Zambrano, Founder & CEO of Galt Energy, one of Mexico’s fastest growing residential and commercial solar installers.  This is the inaugural episode of the "Latam Founders Series", and I really think it’s a great example of the kinds of entrepreneurs we’re seeing arise in the solar industry throughout Latam.  Galt and Jose are emblematic of solid fundamentals, great leadership, and being out ahead of what we believe will be a massive wave of solar growth in Mexico.  

In today’s episode, Jose and I dig into exactly how Galt has become one of the fastest growing solar companies in Mexico, maybe in Latin America.

It's impressive to see how they’ve built such a successful system to scale the company, and he shares the tools and mindset that have helped them get to this stage in their growth.

He even shares the secret hiring tip that took their system failures down to zero.

If you've ever wondered how to start and scale a distributed solar company in latin America, or how to sell to one, then keep your pen handy, you might want to take some notes.

If you like what you hear, please SHARE it!

And be sure to check out all the rest of the episodes in this series, which are forthcoming - stay tuned!!!

Resources mentioned in today's episode:

Book

Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It... and Why the Rest Don't - Verne Harnish

016: Latam Founders Series with Luis Morales of Enphase Energy

In this episode, I'd like to introduce you to my friend, Luis Morales, Head of Latin America for Enphase Energy.  For the last year, Luis and I have been in discussions about an idea that is now bearing fruit in the form of this special Series of interviews we're calling the "Latam Founders Series".  I have spent the last 6 months meeting with or interviewing some of the Enphase customers who are growing the fastest not only in their own countries but in the Latam Region and have taken often innovative approaches to both technology and financing to do so.

The thesis is this: If you're building a business you're a maverick. If that business is in the growing but still extremely small niche of solar power, in Latin America, and beyond that, you've done in-depth analysis of cutting-edge technology like Enphase sufficient to standardize (and scale) around it as you grow, there's a chance you have an interesting story to tell.

NB: There are 6 episodes (presently) in the series - FOUR of them will be completely in Spanish. Yes, we're proud to be FINALLY releasing content to the SunCast audience in Spanish (or to those who would be in the audience if only we would produce some content in Spanish - Yep, I've heard that, so we'll test it!)

In today’s episode, we discuss the thought behind why we think these entrepreneurs need to be heard, and why Enphase is teaming up with us to bring these stories to light.

If you like what you hear, please SHARE it!

And be sure to check out all the rest of the episodes in this series, which are forthcoming - stay tuned!!!

You will also be able to find all of the episodes and content on this Enphase page as the episodes go live.

015: Brazil is on the rise, with Rodrigo Barfield of Long Light Energy

A 2015 Financial Times article says, “Brazil is mired in its worst recession since the 1930’s, but entrepreneurs know how to find opportunities.”  That sentiment is pervasive in the booming Brazilian solar market; despite economic turmoil, sky-high interest rates and fluctuating exchange rates, the Brazilian solar market grew to more than 72MW of interconnected DG systems!

Last year, I sat down with my friend Rodrigo because I was really interested in better understanding the Brazil market.  He had just moved back to Brazil to run his new company, so I reached out and we chatted for a bit about what’s going on down there. This is part of what I’m calling The Founders Series, stories from entrepreneurs on the front lines of solar in Latin America.

In this episode of SunCast, you'll meet Rodrigo Barfield of Long Light Energy.  Rod has had quite an interesting career from the World Bank and private equity in SE Asia to building Real Infrastructure in Central America.

In today’s episode, we discuss:
What Rod believes are the Biggest bottlenecks to DG solar in Brazil
The difference he sees among the various markets in Latin America and why, for him, Brazil represents by far the largest opportunity yet.
And how he really feels about some of the other markets!
Brasil’s distributed market regulations that are boosting solar DG (in particular Residential) installations.
His big question for Brazil is - How do you structure the deals to solve for Debt financing?

Today’s episode is full of information, so I hope you stay through to the end.

If you like what you hear, please SHARE it!

Resources discussed:

014: Matthew Harris of SEI and training Latam’s solar workforce

This episode of SunCast continues our discussion with Matthew Harris of Solar Energy International (SEI). Matthew is the Program Manager for SEI’s Spanish-language solar training program, and he’s has been with SEI for over ten years (!), involved in many aspects of their mission of providing industry-leading technical training and expertise in renewable energy to empower people, communities, and businesses worldwide.

Matthew has led the development of the Spanish training program for the last 4 years with a focus on Latin America, now boasting over 1000 students and counting.  

In today’s episode, we discuss

State of the Industry for solar training in Latam

Training standards across the region and the need for further advocacy

SEI’s innovative partnership model that’s led to relationships with industry titans like First Solar leading their training efforts in Chile

In-person vs Online and the future of integrated learning

And lastly, we get into one little practice You could be implementing that would boost your sales presence and “on your feet” alertness right now.

If you like what you hear, please SHARE it!

Resources mentioned in today's Episode:

About the Author:
Nico Johnson is the creator and host of SunCast, a regular conversation with Solar Industry professionals who are leading in emerging solar markets.  The content of the show is geared towards listeners looking for insights on where the markets are headed, how to position themselves or their companies, and what today's market leaders do to stay ahead of the pack.
Nico is a 10-year veteran of the solar industry, having led development in the US and Latin America for global companies like Trina Solar and Conergy.  He served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala and is considered one of the market's leading experts on solar PV expansion in the region.

Nico can be reached at nico@mysuncast.com

012 & 013: Taking projects from PowerPoint to Powerplant with Alvaro Garcia of Gestamp

 

This is a two-part episode with Alvaro Garcia of X-Elio (formerly Gestamp), split between Episode 12 and 13.

Part 1:

This episode of SunCast features Alvaro Garcia of X-Elio, a Gestamp subsidiary.  Alvaro has the distinction of being chosen, during his Martifer Solar days, as the EPC for the first Utility-scale project ever financed and built in Mexico - the Aura Solar project in Baja California.  And as an ex-pat living in Mexico for more than 5 yrs now, he has some interesting insights into doing business within the confines of the Mexican “economy”.  You’ll be surprised to hear what he says about corruption.  We discuss the value of hiring local, the key roles to fill in your solar startup, and this year’s Mexico solar auctions.  If you’re curious at all about how to develop solar in Mexico, today’s show should scratch your itch.

Part 2: On building Trust relationships

Alvaro has built one of the most significant solar projects to-date in Mexico, the 40MW Aura Solar project, and he’s got 3 years of experience there as an expat building 2 different companies.  We dig into stories from Aura, getting buy-in from regulators, the future of C&I as well as resi in Mexico, and how to start the day right.  Alvaro is a wellspring of info, and this episode is short but very sweet.

Resources from this episode:

About the Author:
Nico Johnson is the creator and host of SunCast, a regular discussion with Solar Industry professionals who are focused on the Latin America solar market.  The content of the show is geared towards listeners looking for in-depth conversation on the trends in the market, how to position companies to win in Latin America, and what today's market leaders do to stay ahead of the pack.
Nico is a 10-year veteran of the solar industry, having led development in the US and Latin America for global companies like Trina Solar and Conergy.  His connection to the Latam market extends back to when he served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala, and he is considered one of the market's leading experts on solar pv expansion in region.

Nico can be reached at nico@mysuncast.com

010 & 011: Karin Berardo of M+W on learning the language of finance & the 104 yr old EPC

This is a two-part episode with my good friend, Karin Berardo, split between Episode 10 and 11.

Part 1:

This episode of SunCast features Karin Berardo of M+W Group.  Karin has been a pioneer in a number of ways in the solar industry, being involved in what was one of the first companies in the US to finance large-scale solar using a Power Purchase Agreement.  She's now heading up international expansion for M+W and we cover her broad-ranging experience from Brazil to Mexico as well as what it takes to finance a solar project today.

Exciting stuff since last show: Mexico tender, Argentina tender, new legislation in Brazil and Colombia, presidential elections across the region, on and on.

Impossible to catch up on it all, but I think I’ll do another episode soon with a market analyst to bring everyone up to speed.  
That said, Mike Munsell of GTM just published another teaser to their PV Playbook that gives interesting detail to how the region continues to evolve.  According to the report, the region is on pace to install 2.2 gigawatts of PV in 2016, up 55 percent over last year’s 1.4 gigawatts.  Further, GTM Research anticipates Latin America will install 7.7 gigawatts of PV annually by 2020!

Many of you, I’m certain, are already familiar with Karin Berardo or M&W.

Karin's extensive background in renewables, finance, and emerging markets is among the most impressive I've ever encountered. She's been active in Mexico for 3 yrs with Gehrlicher/M+W and believes the C&I space in Mexico is the more interesting market and one we should be looking out for.

I love her honesty in admitting that her resume has been an adventure, not particularly guided by foresight but successful nonetheless.  

You’ll hear as she explains how she discovered a need to, as she calls it, "learn the language of finance"

We cover What working at Muni Mae taught her about finance and how MMA Renewable Ventures began

Karin discusses what she's looking for as an investor, longterm, and the nature of PPA products as investment vehicles, and where the main funds come from that are flowing into these types of projects.

Part 2:

This episode of SunCast continues our discussion with Karin Berardo of M+W Group. Karin has been a pioneer in solar through her involvement with MuniMae’s MMA Renewables, Cleanpath, and now M+W Group’s global expansion.  In this Episode, we dive into the dynamics of working for a 100 yr old company in a low-margin game, keeping your mind fresh and informed, and how to prioritize and do the right things as a company and individual for maximum impact.  We chat about EPC differentiation, organizing your thoughts, managing a company of 7000 individuals, and which markets she thinks are Hot or Not.  This is a fun conversation, and Karin dispels loads of wisdom.  

Right in the beginning, we jump into the story of M&W >100 yrs, diversified company growing from a small ventilation and air quality company in Germany to the global behemoth it is today.
M+W is now the global leader in solar cell and module production plants (actually building them) around the world!  Counting the SunPower plant in Mexicali, First Solar in Malaysia, and many other supply chain companies in their track record.

When asked how does M&W stand apart from crowd when it's got tons of overhead and EPC is such a tight margin game, Karin discusses the value of their global network and history, and points to acquisition of Gehrlicher Solar as a defining moment for the solar EPC piece of their business.

2 main advantages they bring:

• excellent problem solvers able to break complexity into manageable components

• existing C&I customers, really understanding how PV can augment the broader problem solving around building efficiency and customized specialized engineering

She highlights they're also able to work with enormous projects requiring balance sheet and bankability, and bring best-of-breed product in the field.

On more personal notes, Karen talks about what a developer should be paying attention to when entering into a new market.  And she gives her view on keeping balanced, her reading habits, and the nature of working with a global team, as well as what she refers to as her "personal clipping service" - how she keeps up with the headlines.  Karin also opens up about task management, prioritization, and doing the Right things to progress as a company and an individual.

"...the greatest training in my life as a professional was having children... you learn to deal with irrational people, adapt and think fast on your feet."

The one thing she consistently does that yields the greatest impact:  make time for mindfulness

Hot or Not
Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, Panama, Honduras, Caribbean, Mexico

Karin's crystal ball prediction is an endorsement of the basics and fundamentals of behind the meter C&I solar expansion in Latam.

Resources:

Mike Munsell's GTM Research article I mentioned (re: Latam Playbook)

About the Author:
Nico Johnson is the creator and host of SunCast, a regular discussion with Solar Industry professionals who are focused on the Latin America solar market.  The content of the show is geared towards listeners looking for in-depth conversation on the trends in the market, how to position companies to win in Latin America, and what today's market leaders do to stay ahead of the pack.
Nico is a 10-year veteran of the solar industry, having led development in the US and Latin America for global companies like Trina Solar and Conergy.  His connection to the Latam market extends back to when he served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala, and he is considered one of the market's leading experts on solar pv expansion in region.

Nico can be reached at nico@mysuncast.com

009: Microgrids are the future, with Pablo Astorga of ABB

Host Nico Johnson and ABB Global Manager of Microgrids, Pablo Astorga.  Join in as Nico and Pablo discuss the global microgrid market.

We talk about definition of microgrid, where microgrids are growing, projections for the global microgrid markets and more.  Pablo has had a nearly decade-long career at ABB, and is leading the effort at ABB to address what could soon be a fast-growing market which is often at the bleeding edge of power delivery and technology development.

We really hope you get massive value from this next episode of SunCast!

Book recommendations: 

When Cultures Collide - Richard D. Lewis

Miracle Morning - Hal Elrod

Resources mentioned:

Wikipedia - for research of a country the night before a business trip

Feedly - RSS Feed and content curation

Podcasts - Energy Gang, Planet Money

Apps - Runtastic, Headspace (meditation), Elevate (brain training) 

Fitbit - Fitness tracker

One consistent action:

Pablo tracks and measures everything, from personal fitness to weekly and monthly professional goals. Tracking these metrics is one of the ways he most consistently improves at work and in life.

About the Author:
Nico Johnson is the creator and host of SunCast, a regular discussion with Solar Industry professionals who are focused on the Latin America solar market.  The content of the show is geared towards listeners looking for in-depth conversation on the trends in the market, how to position companies to win in Latin America, and what today's market leaders do to stay ahead of the pack.
Nico is a 10-year veteran of the solar industry, having led development in the US and Latin America for global companies like Trina Solar and Conergy.  His connection to the Latam market extends back to when he served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala, and he is considered one of the market's leading experts on solar pv expansion in region.

Nico can be reached at nico@mysuncast.com

or on Linked In 

008: Your network is your net worth, with Jeff Atkin of Foley & Lardner

Host Nico Johnson and Foley & Lardner Partner, Jeff Atkin.  Join in as Nico and Jeff discuss how their mutual time serving in volunteerism in Latin America (in particular, Guatemala) has informed their professional decisions.

We talk about the Horus solar project in Guatemala, one which Jeff’s team at Foley was responsible for structuring; if you’re unfamiliar with this project, it was the first major tender-awarded and utility-scale project in Central America, and it’s one of the largest in the region now at about 75MW AC.

Jeff gives his opinion on lessons learned from that project, and what he admired about the way the developer approached the project with the end in mind.

We discuss the power of initiative, and how he leveraged the power of a large organization to gain traction in an emerging industry, and subsequently, how Jeff has differentiated Foley among the pool of international firms that have a Latin America focus.

And, Jeff confirms the not-so-secret fact that the “wealthy families” are almost always the entry point for finding the early stage opportunities and localizing good partnerships, while providing great tips on how to develop and care for your own network.

We really hope you get massive value from this next episode of SunCast!

Resources from this episode:

Legacy, by James Kerr 

Good Reading:
Climatescope

About the Author:
Nico Johnson is the creator and host of SunCast, a regular discussion with Solar Industry professionals who are focused on the Latin America solar market.  The content of the show is geared towards listeners looking for in-depth conversation on the trends in the market, how to position companies to win in Latin America, and what today's market leaders do to stay ahead of the pack.
Nico is a 10-year veteran of the solar industry, having led development in the US and Latin America for global companies like Trina Solar and Conergy.  His connection to the Latam market extends back to when he served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala, and he is considered one of the market's leading experts on solar pv expansion in region.

Nico can be reached at nico@mysuncast.com or on Linked In

007: 4 tips for standing out as a good local partner, Recap of SunCast Launch episodes, and strategic planning for 2016

Host Nico Johnson does a solo round this week providing a recap of the past few weeks episodes that constitutes the SunCast launch.  We take a look at 4 tips for positioning yourself as (or finding) a good local partner in Latin America.  And Nico discusses some of the ways he looks at planning for the new year as well as the main tool he uses to keep it all straight - meditation!  We believe today’s episode is value-packed, and trust you will too.

Nico Mentions his PDF on the 4 tips to being a good local partner. Click this link to download:

Click Here to Download

And, the article he mentions by Michael Puttre on Latin America is here. 

About the Author:
Nico Johnson is the creator and host of SunCast, a regular discussion with Solar Industry professionals who are focused on the Latin America solar market.  The content of the show is geared towards listeners looking for in-depth conversation on the trends in the market, how to position companies to win in Latin America, and what today's market leaders do to stay ahead of the pack.
Nico is a 10-year veteran of the solar industry, having led development in the US and Latin America for global companies like Trina Solar and Conergy.  His connection to the Latam market extends back to when he served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala, and he is considered one of the market's leading experts on solar pv expansion in region.

Nico can be reached at nico@mysuncast.com or on Linked In

006: How to pivot from product to projects, with Lamberto Camacho of SolaireDirect

Host Nico Johnson and SolaireDirect Managing Director for Mexico & Central America, Lamberto Camacho.  Join in as Nico and Lamberto discuss the similarities of International development between Africa and Latin America, and go deep on how Lamberto positioned SolaireDirect to win the Panama Solar PV Tender last year.  Lamberto has been involved in solar development for a decade, and has personally developed >200MW of projects on 3 continents.  Nico pulls a lot of tips and insights out of Lamberto to share with the SunCast audience, so listen carefully and probably multiple times, as they discuss Mexico, Central America and the regional differences that a good developer has to consider in market development.

We really hope you get massive value from this episode of SunCast!

About the Author:
Nico Johnson is the creator and host of SunCast, a regular discussion with Solar Industry professionals who are focused on the Latin America solar market.  The content of the show is geared towards listeners looking for in-depth conversation on the trends in the market, how to position companies to win in Latin America, and what today's market leaders do to stay ahead of the pack.
Nico is a 10-year veteran of the solar industry, having led development in the US and Latin America for global companies like Trina Solar and Conergy.  His connection to the Latam market extends back to when he served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala, and he is considered one of the market's leading experts on solar pv expansion in region.

Nico can be reached at nico@mysuncast.com

BONUS EPISODE: Live Recording, LACSA Launch event from Solar Power International 2015

This episode is a WEB-ONLY exclusive.

In September 2015, the Latin America and Caribbean Solar Alliance was launched in conjunction with a live event at Solar Power International 2015 by Conergy, Nextracker, Envolta, Solectria, Solar Energy International and several other solar industry leaders.  

LASCA was created to spearhead four main activities: Facilitate a unified voice among the disparate stakeholders in the region to focus efforts toward regional advancement; disseminate practical knowledge and best practices learned from Latin America experts to improve "local" knowledge; aggregate online knowledge and content sharing in our forums; and sponsor ongoing Latin America-focused solar events across the globe.

The event was hosted by Adam James, formerly of Greentech Media, interviewing Marco Krapels of SolarCity and Farooq Malik of North America Development Bank, in which Adam explores what is driving key investments in M&A and Infrastructure development in Mexico, as well as considers the implications for the rest of the Latin America & Caribbean markets.

Marco and Farooq are both highly knowledgeable about the Mexico and broader latin america markets, especially with regard to the the financing of utility-scale deals and M&A.  And, they really bring valuable insights into how the market is developing broadly, and where you might want to spend time as a developer or investor.

Episode 005: Q&A with Host, Nico Johnson

Host Nico Johnson takes some time today in this first Question and Answer episode to respond to some questions received from the audience the past few weeks.  

There are a lot of requests for whether the show will ever be in Spanish.  The short answer is "maybe" and "it depends".  Nico unpacks it a bit further.

In our inaugural episode, there was quite a bit of data and market trend info shared between Nico and Adam James, and many really enjoyed this style approach for the show.  We'll definitely be bringing more of this back, but Adam is moving on from his role at GTM, so the recordings have necessarily been put on the back burner as he makes this transition.

Conferences are an important way to gain exposure to the players in any specific region, and Latin America is no different.  Nico's been to, and spoken at most of the regional conferences, and takes some time here to highlight what he sees working.

A common hurdle for someone entering into a new market is determining where and with whom they should partner. Nico shares some guidance on how you might go about making that decision.

Finally, LACSA has been mentioned a few times on the 'cast, so Nico takes a moment to explain the reasoning behind it here.

And, this Q&A tees up the Bonus Episode that you can listen to only on the SunCast website, which is our Live recording of the event we hosted in Anaheim during this year's Solar Power International (2015).

About the Author:
Nico Johnson is the creator and host of SunCast, a regular discussion with Solar Industry professionals who are focused on the Latin America solar market.  The content of the show is geared towards listeners looking for in-depth conversation on the trends in the market, how to position companies to win in Latin America, and what today's market leaders do to stay ahead of the pack.
Nico is a 10-year veteran of the solar industry, having led development in the US and Latin America for global companies like Trina Solar and Conergy.  His connection to the Latam market extends back to when he served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala, and he is considered one of the market's leading experts on solar pv expansion in region.

Nico can be reached at nico@mysuncast.com

Episode 004: Solar tenders, Storage, and the perspectives of an IPP

Host Nico Johnson and sPower VP for Latin America, Edgar Arvizu.  Join in as Nico and Edgar discuss the in-detail one of Edgar’s first projects in the region, the 5MW Puerto Rico Convention Center carport project.  Edgar and his team have developed some of the first and largest solar projects in the region, from Puerto Rico to Peru, and this Mexican-born devleper has a deep understanding of both the development and banking aspects of the business.  In this episode, Edgar touches on the variability of the solar tender process, bankability of solar+storage, and volatility in exchange risk as it pertains to getting a project financed.

Edgar is one of those experienced developers with a broad range of expertise whose willing to share what he knows.  I really hope you get massive value from this next episode of SunCast!

About the Author:
Nico Johnson is the creator and host of SunCast, a regular discussion with Solar Industry professionals who are focused on the Latin America solar market.  The content of the show is geared towards listeners looking for in-depth conversation on the trends in the market, how to position companies to win in Latin America, and what today's market leaders do to stay ahead of the pack.
Nico is a 10-year veteran of the solar industry, having led development in the US and Latin America for global companies like Trina Solar and Conergy.  His connection to the Latam market extends back to when he served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala, and he is considered one of the market's leading experts on solar pv expansion in region.

Nico can be reached at nico@mysuncast.com

Episode 003: When will Solar be FREE? with Camilo Patrignani of Greenwood Energy

Host Nico Johnson meets with Greenwood Energy CEO, Camilo Patrignani, live from Solar Power International 2015.  Join in as Nico and Camilo discuss the hard parts of developing one of the largest private solar PPAs in Latin America.  We also cover the decisions behind Greenwood’s JV with Illios in Mexico, and the art of letting go when your partner is courted by deeper pockets.  Camilo gives a little insight as well into Greenwood’s master plan to pivot away from the Utility markets and move towards what he sees as the burgeoning and more cash-cycle-friendly rooftop distributed generation (DG) markets.

Camilo helps us delve into the specific variables that can affect the success of a solar project in latin america, and how to avoid common pitfalls.  I really hope you get massive value from this next episode of SunCast!

Resources:

Book mentioned by Camilo - 

Bold - Peter Diamandis

About the Author:
Nico Johnson is the creator and host of SunCast, a regular discussion with Solar Industry professionals who are focused on the Latin America solar market.  The content of the show is geared towards listeners looking for in-depth conversation on the trends in the market, how to position companies to win in Latin America, and what today's market leaders do to stay ahead of the pack.
Nico is a 10-year veteran of the solar industry, having led development in the US and Latin America for global companies like Trina Solar and Conergy.  His connection to the Latam market extends back to when he served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala, and he is considered one of the market's leading experts on solar pv expansion in region.

Nico can be reached at nico@mysuncast.com

Episode 002: Anatomy of a winning market entry strategy, with Marco Garcia of Nextracker

Host Nico Johnson and Nextracker COO, Marco Garcia, dive deep into Marco's global experience developing solar energy projects with Powerlight, SunPower, and now Nextracker as he has lived through multiple emerging market growth cycles.  Marco and his team have been present at the birth of most of today's largest solar market booms, and Latin America is no different.  We dig into exactly how they won some of the largest supply deals in the Latin America region, and what Marco has learned over the years about how to get in early and dominate a new market.

The depth of solar experience demonstrated in today's show is perfect for young developers and sales engineers who are eager to learn tips and tricks from an old pro.  From how to hit the ground running in a new country to key signs you're courting a winning prospect, Marco lays out some golden nuggets for the discerning listener.  Hope you get as much out of this as I did.

About the Author:
Nico Johnson is the creator and host of SunCast, a regular discussion with Solar Industry professionals who are focused on the Latin America solar market.  The content of the show is geared towards listeners looking for in-depth conversation on the trends in the market, how to position companies to win in Latin America, and what today's market leaders do to stay ahead of the pack.
Nico is a 10-year veteran of the solar industry, having led development in the US and Latin America for global companies like Trina Solar and Conergy.  His connection to the Latam market extends back to when he served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala, and he is considered one of the market's leading experts on solar pv expansion in region.

Nico can be reached at nico@mysuncast.com