Clean Power Hour

Microgrids offer utilities eight distinct value stacks (or streams), yet most still treat them as experimental pilots. Today on the Clean Power Hour, we reveal how microgrids are strategic network assets that deliver value every single day, not just when the grid fails. Martin Szczepanik is Director of Energy and Resources at Baringa, a global energy consultancy. He brings 11 years of utility strategy experience, including work with SolarCity, major West Coast utilities, and renewable energy developers. Baringa recently released a white paper called "From Pilots to Portfolios: Scaling the Rollout of Utility Microgrids."Key Discussion Points:• The complete microgrid value stack: resilience, distribution capacity deferral, transmission capacity deferral, ancillary services, energy arbitrage, generation capacity deferral, avoided emissions, and avoided public safety power shutoffs (PSPS)• Why resilience differs from reliability: climate-driven extreme weather events versus age and condition-driven outages• How billion-dollar natural disasters increased from once every 90 days in the 1980s to once every 19 days today, which necessitates the increased need for microgrids• Distribution and transmission capacity deferral: using microgrids to avoid $5-10 million infrastructure upgrades• Energy arbitrage opportunities: charging batteries when solar floods the grid, discharging during peak demand• FERC 2222 enabling distributed energy resources to participate in wholesale markets and earn revenue• California wildfires and PSPS (Public Safety Power Shutoffs) events: how microgrids reduce the cost of de-energizing lines• Why utilities need to assess microgrids in distribution planning instead of defaulting to substations and reconductoringConnect with Martin Szczepanik, Baringa LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/martinszczepanik/Website: www.baringa.com/en/about/regions/north-america/microgrids/Whitepaper: www.baringa.com/en/insights/digitising-the-energy-system/scaling-microgrids/ Support the showConnect with Tim Clean Power Hour Clean Power Hour on YouTubeTim on TwitterTim on LinkedIn Email [email protected] Review Clean Power Hour on Apple PodcastsThe 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

#EP323 Building clean energy projects faster starts with better tools. Maryssa Barron, Founder and CEO of BuildQ, joins Tim Montague to discuss how AI transforms energy project development. Maryssa Barron is the founder and CEO of BuildQ, the enterprise AI platform purpose-built for clean energy project teams to accelerate development, financing, and asset management. She brings cross-disciplinary expertise in renewable energy, project finance, and law, with experience spanning the full project lifecycle. Before founding BuildQ, Maryssa advised Fortune 50 companies and leading developers on renewable energy procurement at Edison Energy and LevelTen Energy. She also served as Chief Operating Officer of a global solar company, where she oversaw project development, financing, and operations across international markets. Key Highlights:How BuildQ reduces project analysis time from 3 weeks to 3 daysWhy one developer uses BuildQ instead of hiring 15 new employeesAI frameworks that analyze interconnection queues and permitting dataThe role of human expertise in AI-assisted energy developmentHow law firms and conservative industries are adopting AI toolsChina's 10X infrastructure buildout advantage and U.S. national security implicationsBehind-the-meter solutions and data center co-location trendsEarly adoption benefits in the energy sectorThe energy sector needs speed and scale. AI tools like BuildQ make both possible.Connect with Maryssa Barron, BuildQ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/maryssa-barron/Website: buildq.ai Support the showConnect with Tim Clean Power Hour Clean Power Hour on YouTubeTim on TwitterTim on LinkedIn Email [email protected] Review Clean Power Hour on Apple PodcastsThe 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

This week on Clean Power Hour Live, Tim Montague and John Weaver break down the biggest solar and storage headlines shaping the industry right now.The US reached 40 gigawatts of grid storage in 2025, beating the 35 gigawatt goal set in 2017. But supply chains are struggling to keep up. 100 amp-hour battery cells are sold out through 2026 as demand surges across residential, commercial, and utility projects.John discusses his company's expansion into Illinois, where new legislation adds 873 megawatts of solar and 3 gigawatts of storage over the next few years. The state is also unlocking VPP programs, giving distributed batteries a bigger role in grid operations.Episode Highlights:US grid storage installations reached 40 gigawatts in 2025, exceeding the 35 gigawatt goal set in 2017 (Energy Storage Association via Canary Media)Illinois passes new legislation adding 873 megawatts of solar and 3 gigawatts of storage, enabling VPP programs Battery cell shortage intensifies as 100 amp hour cells sell out through 2026 due to demand across residential and utility sectors (PV Magazine)Electric freight vehicles and delivery trucks show explosive growth in China, with EVs approaching 50% of all vehicle sales (John Hanger via Blue Sky)Natural gas prices spike above $5, expected to drive electricity rate increases in 2026 through utility cost recapture mechanisms (Bloomberg)US extends tariff exclusions for solar manufacturing equipment, including silicon growth furnaces and wire saws (PV Magazine)The discussion explores why battery adoption creates a flywheel effect for solar installations, how state incentives are driving developer interest, and what supply chain pressures mean for project timelines in 2026. Support the showConnect with Tim Clean Power Hour Clean Power Hour on YouTubeTim on TwitterTim on LinkedIn Email [email protected] Review Clean Power Hour on Apple PodcastsThe 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

#EP322 Today on the Clean Power Hour, we dive into one of the biggest bottlenecks strangling the clean energy transition: the slow, messy world of zoning, permitting, and early-stage development. Our guests are Julia Wu and Anuj Saigal, co-founders of Spark AI, a Y Combinator-backed platform that has ingested and summarized nearly every zoning code, ordinance, and permitting pathway in the United States.Julia Wu is CEO and co-founder of Spark AI. She's a software engineer who cut her teeth at Microsoft, Apple (working on Siri), and Brex before founding Spark. Her background spans AI, natural language processing, and financial technology.Anuj Saigal is the co-founder of Spark AI and a veteran of the energy sector since 2010. He worked at the Department of Energy Loan Programs Office during the Obama administration, then moved through SunEdison, EVgo, and Natto (a video AI telematics company). Anuj has been a developer of utility-scale and distributed generation projects and understands the pain points of permitting and interconnection firsthand.Key Discussion Points:Spark AI uses large language models to aggregate zoning regulations, permitting requirements, local sentiment, and news articles for every jurisdiction in AmericaThree core use cases: early-stage greenfield site selection, monitoring projects in development for regulatory changes, and rapid acquisition due diligenceStandard Solar (Brookfield-owned) reduced acquisition diligence from months to one week, cutting time by 75%Dynamic Energy accelerated site screening while improving community sentiment risk assessmentUGE used Spark to assess a massive portfolio acquisition, determining which parcels had viable zoning pathsThe platform is LLM-neutral, easily swapping between OpenAI, Anthropic, DeepSeek, and other models to optimize for accuracy and speedUnlike off-the-shelf AI tools, Spark delivers consistency, accuracy, and citations developers need for trust-but-verify workflowsConnect with Anuj and Julia Julia Wu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wu-julia/Anuj Saigal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anujsaigal/Spark AI Website: https://www.sparkhq.ai/ Support the showConnect with Tim Clean Power Hour Clean Power Hour on YouTubeTim on TwitterTim on LinkedIn Email [email protected] Review Clean Power Hour on Apple PodcastsThe 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

#321 Today on the Clean Power Hour, we explore energy storage as a service for some of the toughest markets in the country. Tim Montague sits down with Christian Farivar, founder of Karh, to discuss how his company is tackling grid congestion, load pockets, and resilience challenges in Urban Areas like New York City with next-generation battery technology designed for a 30-year asset life.Christian brings a unique background to energy storage. After a successful career in the music industry, he pivoted to engineering and energy, eventually earning a degree from Harvard University. His journey led him to found Karh around 2020, right when FERC Order 2222 opened doors for distributed energy resources to participate in wholesale markets.Key Discussion Points:The challenge of deploying large-scale energy storage in dense urban environments like New York CityWhy load pockets in major cities need localized battery solutions to relieve transmission constraintsHow Karh is developing chemistry-agnostic battery systems with 30-year asset life expectationsThe economics of energy storage: achieving unit economics of $45-50 per megawatt-hourRunning 12X more profitably than existing battery systems through advanced AI optimizationPlans for a 90 megawatt-hour test project in NYC by 2027, scaling to 350+ megawatt-hour systemsIntegration with EV charging, frequency regulation, and distributed energy resourcesWhy building electrification and edge AI data centers create massive demand spikes that require nearby capacityIf you're building a battery that lasts 30 years in the world's toughest energy market, you're not just solving today's problems. You're building infrastructure for the next generation grid.Connect with Christian Farivar LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christianfarivar/?originalSubdomain=caWebsite: https://karh.energy/#home Support the showConnect with Tim Clean Power Hour Clean Power Hour on YouTubeTim on TwitterTim on LinkedIn Email [email protected] Review Clean Power Hour on Apple PodcastsThe 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