Solar Spotlight: Using energy load management to avoid service upgrades

As utility-scale solar and energy storage continue to drive grid expansion, the engineering decisions made early in a project's lifecycle grow in importance. This episode of Solar Spotlight focuses on the value of integrating engineering expertise from earliest stages of project development. Decisions vital to a solar project's success, like product selection, logistics and finding the right engineering partner — can ultimately reduce risk and costly mistakes in the long run. Joining me for this episode of Solar Spotlight are Josh Dorfman, president of American Wire Group, and Scott Moore, VP of renewables at American Wire Group.

Kamal Shah has seen residential and commercial construction industries shift from analog procedures to more advanced, software-driven practices to improve job site operations. He's also played an integral role in introducing these new efficiencies to the solar industry through his company SiteCapture. The software platform, available to the residential and commercial solar markets, helps manage data collection and verification across the entire lifespan of the solar array, from site survey through operations and maintenance. Shah joins us for this episode of Solar Spotlight to discuss some of the biggest trends in contemporary solar and how SiteCapture is keeping a long view on the future of photovoltaics.

The U.S. solar industry is constantly remaking itself to adapt to market demands, and so too are the manufacturers producing these renewable technologies. Following that notion, Jinko, a prominent PV module company, recently expanded its manufacturing operations to include battery energy storage systems. With the two complementary technologies under one umbrella, Jinko is supplying the utility and C&I segments with 24-hour energy from a single source. On this episode of Solar Spotlight by Solar Power World, Adam Detrick, director of product management and technical services at Jinko, discusses the company's strategic expansion into energy storage and how it's ensuring solar + storage projects deliver reliable, long-term performance. He also highlights Jinko's focus on providing safe, smooth and secure energy storage solutions through its comprehensive pre-integration services, robust long-term service agreements (LTSAs) and strong commitment to cybersecurity, giving customers confidence in the durability, reliability and security of their systems.

The Trump Administration has reversed Inflation Reduction Act tax incentives that have bolstered solar’s domestic manufacturing and installation footprints. While they technically are still active, these credits are operating with a shorter runway. On this episode of Solar Spotlight, Liz Reicherts, global head of government affairs, and Kleber Facchini, Director of CC&I Products & Applications at SolarEdge, discuss the state of domestic solar subsidies and how to use them while they’re still intact. Additionally, SolarEdge has partnered with solar mounting company Enstall and its subsidiaries, IronRidge and Panelclaw, to help PV contractors qualify for domestic content incentives.

Josh Dorfman, president of American Wire Group, is on this episode of Solar Spotlight to discuss the ins and outs of operating a national supplier of cable and electronic components for the renewable energy market in 2025.

James Mason, VP of renewable energy for ABC Supply, a national roofing and solar product supplier, talks global and domestic factors impacting solar industry’s growth, insights on federal and state incentives, unique challenges in commercial and industrial solar installations and more.

On this episode of Solar Spotlight, Benjamin Heitmann, marketing manager, and Madeline Acri, applications engineer with Sungrow North America discuss the company’s history of manufacturing solar inverter technologies and dive into some of the specific features of string inverters.

While there is greater oversight for installing solar projects on school grounds, M Bar C Construction has found success in this segment of the market and has done so through building solar carports. Bobby Bonfanti, eastern division manager, and Erik Krivokopich, VP of business development at M Bar C, are on this episode of Solar Spotlight to shed some light on why carports are the ideal solar solution for schools.

The value of energy resiliency is increasing in the face of stronger weather events and natural disasters, and the electrical grid isn’t always prepared to withstand these adverse environmental pressures. Rex Liu, VP of product management, clean energy, at Generac, is on this episode of Solar Spotlight to share how residential solar customers can keep ample backup energy to power everything necessary during a grid outage.

The American power grid is electrifying through renewable energy proliferation, and homeowners are following suit by replacing gas powered vehicles and appliances with electric-powered options. However, certain homes are encountering the conundrum of having too high of an electrical load and not enough electrical service to back it. Savant is a recognized leader in both smart home and smart power solutions, developing solutions for balancing electrical loads in the age of in-home solar and storage. Ian Roberts, VP of sales excellence at Savant, is on this episode of Solar Spotlight to discuss the viability of energy load management.