Clean Power Hour

Third-party testing shows robotic solar panel installation reduces micro cracks and defects by 16 to 20%. In this episode, Tim Montague sits down with Jay Wong, CEO of Luminous Robotics, and Andy Klump, longtime solar industry advisor, at RE+ Boston. They walk through the new Lumi 4 robot, its autonomous pallet bot companion, and how robotics-as-a-service delivers 20 to 30% cost reduction for EPCs and mechanical installers. This conversation covers where robotic solar construction stands today and why labor shortages make adoption urgent.
Here's what you'll learn in this conversation about robotic solar installation and the future of utility-scale construction:
Find out how the Lumi 4 robot was redesigned since last year, with a smaller form factor that fits under torque tubes and adapts to varying site conditions.
Learn how Luminous Robotics pairs an autonomous pallet bot with the installation robot to separate material staging from panel placement, bringing factory-style Lean process optimization to the field.
You'll hear why third-party testing by an independent engineering firm confirmed 16 to 20% fewer microcracks and defects with robotic installation compared to manual crews.
Understand the cents-per-watt, robotics-as-a-service pricing model that gives customers 20 to 30% cost reduction from day one without owning or maintaining the equipment.
Andy Klump explains why developers who have safe-harbored gigawatts of equipment will face a labor shortage in 2027 and 2028, and why many systems will not connect to the grid on time without large-scale robotic deployment.
With a wave of safe-harbored solar projects set to break ground in the next two years, the construction workforce will not scale fast enough to meet demand. Robotic installation is moving from proof of concept to commercial deployment, and EPCs who adopt early, stand to gain a measurable cost and quality advantage on utility-scale projects.
Reach Jay and Andy Here 
Jay Wong: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaymingwong/
Luminous: https://www.luminousrobotics.com/
Andy Klump: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aklump/
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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: [email protected]
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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

Every disconnected monitoring platform in your stack is a blind spot. And every blind spot is lost revenue. On this episode of The Clean Power Hour, host Tim Montague sits down with Hervé Billiet, CEO of Sunvoy and co-host of What Solar Installers Need to Know. 
Sunvoy is a solar fleet monitoring and customer management platform that pulls inverter data from multiple brands into a single dashboard so installers see their entire fleet in one place.
Tim and Hervé cover the shift from residential to commercial solar, the growing role of batteries and VPPs, and why fleet monitoring and O&M are no longer optional for installers who want to stay competitive in 2026.
Here's what you'll learn in this conversation about scaling a solar business and preparing for the C&I transition:
Find out why solar systems produce less than promised, and how the industry's "no maintenance" sales pitch created a generation of neglected assets.
Learn how consolidating inverter data from SMA, SolarEdge, and other platforms into one dashboard changes the way installers manage their fleet.
Understand the "dead zone" between residential and commercial solar, where companies running both without dedicated teams risk breaking both pipelines.
You'll hear why predictive AI in monitoring is premature for most residential installers, and why fixing offline inverters matters more right now than advanced models.
Learn what a 3-year payback on C&I solar with batteries in Illinois signals about where the market is heading, and why Tim predicts VPPs will be active in 30 states within five years.
With residential solar declining and battery attachment rates rising, the installers who build dedicated teams and monitoring systems now will be the ones still operating in five years.
Connect with Hervé Billiet here. 
Sunvoy: https://sunvoy.com/
Hervé Billiet: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hervebilliet/
What Solar Installers Need to Know podcast: https://sunvoy.com/podcast
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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: [email protected]
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

Energy bills have jumped as much as 30% in the last year, and data center demand is outpacing grid growth. CPS America, with over 10 gigawatts of string inverters shipped in the US, is responding with a wave of new products: skidded string solutions, a 250kW 600V inverter platform, and fully integrated C&I battery storage with industry-leading fire safety certification. 
In this episode, Tim Montague sits down with six CPS America team members, including Bryan Wagner, Joe Ross, Brian Baxter, Luke Hardin, Luke Schlicte, and Andrey Malyshev, to break down what solar developers, asset owners, and installers need to know about the shift from central to string inverters and the accelerating C&I storage market.
Episode Highlights
CPS America is rolling out a series of new inverter platforms, including a 250kW 600V model that Bryan Wagner expects could do more volume than all other CPS units combined. A new 200kW 480V community solar product and the 350kW with MV station round out the lineup.
Skidded string combines 10 to 12 string inverters on a factory-integrated skid with a transformer and switchgear, then ships to the site. This cuts field labor on the front end and reduces O&M costs on the back end by concentrating all equipment on a single pad.
CPS launched a fully integrated C&I battery storage system with inverters and batteries in one unit.
The central-to-string transition is accelerating as the CapEx gap between the two approaches shrinks. String inverters reduce single points of failure, lower technician costs, and give asset owners more control over uptime and spare parts.
With energy demand outpacing grid growth and battery economics improving each quarter, the team at CPS America makes a data-backed case for why commercial storage and string-inverter adoption are accelerating in 2026. CPS hosts Innovation Day in Dallas, April 22 to 24, for those who want a deeper look. 
Connect with the CPS Team 
Website
LinkedIn
Register for the CPS Innovation Day
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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: [email protected]
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

LFP battery storage pricing dropped from over $1,000 per kilowatt hour to under $100 per kilowatt hour in a few short years. That single shift is reshaping project economics across the solar and storage industry. In this episode of The Clean Power Hour, host Tim Montague sits down with Wes Kennedy, a 30-year clean energy veteran. They cover DC coupling, middle market strategy, the AI-driven energy demand surge, workforce development, and what the storage ITC means in a post-solar-ITC world.
Wes Kennedy leads middle market BESS deployment at QCells. He has nearly 30 years of experience in renewables. He co-founded Namaste Solar and held senior engineering and leadership roles at SMA America, Dynapower, and Blue Planet Energy. He continues to educate the next generation of installers through his "Comprehensive Solar plus Storage" curriculum on HeatSpring.
Episode Highlights
LFP batteries went from over $1,000/kWh to under $100/kWh at scale in a few years. Wes traces this shift from his time at Blue Planet Energy, where lithium iron phosphate was still considered an exotic chemistry. 
DC coupling turns a constrained interconnection into a 24-hour revenue asset. A 1 MW grid connection, when paired with enough solar and storage on the DC side, produces a 24 MWh revenue stream for the host while remaining a 1 MW dispatchable resource from the utility's perspective.
The storage ITC still exists even though solar lost its tax credit. DC-coupled projects benefit because the battery, battery inverter, transformer, skid, and cables all qualify for the ITC. 
QCells is launching a 1.25 MW, 5 MWh middle market skid. All components come from non-FEOC nations with at least 70% domestic content compliance, qualifying for a 40% tax credit. 
The biggest storage myth is a lithium shortage. Wes points to battery recycling companies like Redwood Recycling. Recycled battery volume is a richer feedstock than the richest lithium mine on the planet. 
You can connect with Wes Kennedy here 
Wes Kennedy LinkedIn
Qcells Website
Heatspring Wes Kennedy
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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: [email protected]
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

For the first time, batteries and solar powered California around the clock, with batteries running as the number one morning electricity source at nearly 6,000 megawatts. Tim Montague and John Weaver break down this milestone and a packed week of clean energy news, from a Supreme Court ruling striking down global tariffs to a Republican push to reinstate the 30% solar ITC. 
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
California achieved 24/7 solar and battery power for the first time. Batteries discharged through the night and morning, charged on near-free midday solar, then discharged again in the evening. (PV Magazine)
Republican House member Brian Fitzpatrick voted against the "One Big Bill" over the removal of solar and wind tax credits and now pushes to reinstate the ITC. (E&E News)
The Supreme Court ruled Trump's global tariffs illegal. John clarifies this removes the 10-20% blanket tariffs on goods like copper, steel, and aluminum. Solar module tariffs, battery tariffs from China (40-60%), and Southeast Asian tariffs remain in place. 
Indonesia's solar imports surged from 6 megawatts to 2.5 gigawatts of modules in under two years. Petitioners in the AD/CVD investigation now cite "critical circumstances." Expect new tariff action targeting Indonesian modules. (Solar Power World)
Hithium completed the world's first open-door fire safety test on a 6.25 MWh battery energy storage system. Even with doors open and safety systems disabled, adjacent battery units were undamaged. (ESS News)
Tim reports the number of battery companies at Intersolar roughly doubled year over year, now outnumbering solar module companies.
With the ITC phase-out approaching, electricity prices climbing, and battery deployments accelerating, the stories covered here directly affect procurement decisions, financial modeling, and market strategy in 2026.
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Connect with Tim
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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: [email protected]
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