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Johnny, a self-described “Jewish-Rasta-Zen-Quaker-Humanist,” passed away at home on July 10, 2025, surrounded by family. He was 74 years old. In the year since his cancer diagnosis he was cared for closely by his sons, Alex and Zack, and his former wife Caryn. In what would be his final days, Johnny wrote a farewell letter to his beloved solar family. 

 

Johnny often said he felt lucky in life—and he meant it. Born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey in 1951, he credited much of his joy to two loving older brothers, a tight-knit junior high friend group that stayed close for more than sixty years, his home family, his global solar family and a life filled with community, travel, friendship, mischief and meaning. He never felt the need to lock his house or car (the car was only stolen once), and he never lost his appetite for adventure.

Arriving by motorcycle with his best friend Kevin in the summer of 1972, he made Colorado and the Roaring Fork Valley his home. After building homes and teaching at Colorado Mountain College in 1991, he co-founded Solar Energy International (SEI) as a nonprofit. For almost two decades, thousands of students from all over the world traveled to SEI in Carbondale and later Paonia to learn solar energy and pursue careers in renewable energy. His passion was magnetic, his mentorship unwavering and his commitment to underserved communities foundational to everything he did.

Johnny reminded us that we must never lose sight of the communities still without reliable power, the schools still teaching by candlelight, the clinics still waiting for basic energy access. This is where his heart lived. Johnny often said that the world was our classroom—and he meant it. After retiring from SEI, Johnny continued to work with communities to bring solar energy to those who needed it most—from Maasai villages in Tanzania to sovereign Native American lands across the U.S. In May 2024, ASES awarded Johnny with our Code Development, Innovation, and Training Award in honor of Claudia Hansen Wentworth for his work propelling the solar industry forward by leading the charge in education.

Johnny reminded us that SEI was never just about solar energy technology. It was about community. It was about potlucks and networking with a global community of students who visited the SEI Paonia, Colorado Training Facility. It was about the connections made through the SEI Online Campus, serving thousands of students every year from all over the world. It was about finding your “solar tribe.” And above all, it was about creating a better world through education, connection, and relentless hope.

He was proud—so deeply proud—of how far we’d come together. From the early counterculture roots reading Home Power Magazine to SEI becoming a world-class solar training organization, Johnny never lost sight of the people at the center of it all. His passion was magnetic, his mentorship unwavering, and his commitment to underserved communities foundational to everything he did.

Highs and Lows: He skydived (high on mescaline), scuba dived 120 feet beneath the sea, telemarked snowy peaks, fly-fished wild rivers, and once unscrewed incandescent lightbulbs mid-ride on a slow-moving Disneyland attraction—because even on vacation, energy efficiency matters. He got as high and as low as a person could on this fragile, spinning blue-green orb we all call home. 

Johnny believed in Love and Gravity—what Buckminster Fuller called the two most powerful forces in the universe. He believed in being of use, in community, in the sacred task of healing the world (Tikkun Olam, תיקון עולם), and in the importance of sharing good food, good ideas, and good high-quality cannabis. He was open about living with bipolar II, dyslexia, a long s-s-s-stutter, and a short stature—but what he lacked in height or technical precision, he more than made up for with boundless enthusiasm.

The past year became a gift: long phone calls with old friends, fly fishing, stargazing and visits from the people he loved most. He cherished this time deeply. The house was full of laughter, music, dogs, memories, and mismatched chairs pulled up for shared meals and stories. It gave him the chance to reflect, celebrate, and say goodbye on his own terms. In his final moments, Johnny expressed his love to all and said that he felt blessed.

 

Rest in peace, dear Johnny Weiss. You left us surrounded by love, and you leave behind a world still glowing with the warmth you gave it. Your vision is alive. Your people are ready. And your light will never go out.

With peace, with love, and with solar for all—

Ya mon.

 

Donations can be made to SEI’s Johnny Weiss Solar Energy Access for All Initiative providing scholarships to underserved populations around the world and deepening our commitment to developing world programs.

The American Solar Energy Society (ASES) hosted SOLAR 2025, the 54th annual National Solar Conference, August 4–6, 2025, at the University of Colorado Boulder. The event brought together thought leaders, innovators, policymakers, students, faculty, researchers, and advocates from across the solar and renewable energy community to share ideas, inspire innovation, and build momentum for the clean energy transformation.

This year’s conference theme, “Innovation for Universal Renewable Energy Access,” highlighted solutions that drive climate resilience, energy justice, and technological progress. Attendees arrived curious about the state of the industry, given recent federal changes, and left affirming that solar is here to stay.

The industry is strong enough to persist without federal subsidies and continues to have support at state and local levels. Attendees engaged in dynamic sessions, expanded interactive poster sessions, hands-on workshops, ASES’s first-ever career fair, and networking opportunities that fostered collaboration across the clean energy sector.

Throughout the conference, several recurring themes emerged, underscoring the breadth and urgency of today’s renewable energy transformation. Presentations and discussions highlighted the growing importance of policies that ensure equitable access to energy, particularly for low-income families and communities.

Innovations in agrivoltaics, including approaches that integrate solar with crops, livestock, and natural habitats, showed how solar can enhance rather than compete with agricultural and ecological systems. Building-integrated solar and grid advancements demonstrated how renewable energy is shaping both our infrastructure and our daily lives.

A group of conference attendees touring Jack’s Solar Garden as part of the Local Boulder Solar Tour. © ASES

Sessions also explored tipping points for solar, wind, and batteries, as well as the global forces driving the transition policy and geopolitics, climate and sustainability risks, artificial intelligence, energy transition financing, critical minerals competition, and the rapid growth of cleantech industries.

The conference concluded with a call to action: governments, companies, and the general public must work together to embed transparency, inclusiveness, and good governance into every level of the renewable energy sector. This includes policy frameworks, procurement processes, investment practices, and community advocacy.

SOLAR 2025 carried an optimistic and forward-looking spirit. Attendees came away with practical insights and renewed professional connections, and also with a shared sense that the clean energy transformation is accelerating. Despite policy shifts and supply chain issues with tariffs, the conversations in Boulder reflected a community confident in solar’s staying power and united by a vision of a just and sustainable energy future.

ASES Fellows who came to the 2025 Fellows Reception to celebrate the three 2025 fellow inductees (Seth Masia, Jennifer Rennick, and Jeffrey Peterson). © ASES

Our country’s longest-running annual solar conference, ASES is committed to being mindful of our impact on the ground and on the environment. Via thoughtful planning, SOLAR 2025 was a 100% zero-emissions event. By purchasing carbon offsets and adopting sustainable practices, ASES ensures that these in-person conferences support the planet we’re working to protect.

Thank you to everyone who joined us in Boulder to make this year’s conference both inspiring and sustainable. A very special thank you to our generous sponsors and partners:

• Nextracker
• Solar Design Associates
• Ampacity
• Clevercoat Renewable Roofing
• National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
• Canvas Cloud
• Boulder County Sustainability Climate Action & Resilience
• Solar Wave Energy, Inc
• ProjectLeapFrog.org
• REPowering Schools
• Vote Solar
• Blacks in Performance Marketing
• University of Colorado Boulder’s Master of the Environment
• New Energy Colorado
• The International Solar Energy Society

Save the Date: SOLAR 2026 in Austin, TX

ASES is excited to announce that next year’s conference, SOLAR 2026, the 55th annual National Solar Conference, will be held October 19–21, 2026, in Austin, Texas. The conference will once again unite professionals, students, and community leaders to advance the vision of a 100% renewable energy future, along with celebrating the 50th Anniversary of our ASES Chapter, the Texas Solar Energy Society (TXSES)! Pete Parsons, Executive Director of TXSES has proclaimed that it will be the best solar conference ASES has ever had. Keep an eye out for updates at ases.org/conference.

Goldenvoice, the live entertainment subsidiary of AEG, is reshaping the sustainability landscape of large-scale music festivals. From Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and Stagecoach Festival to Tyler the Creator’s Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival and Portola Music Festival, the company is demonstrating that renewable energy practices are not just aspirational—they’re operational.

At the heart of this transformation is a partnership with the environmental nonprofit REVERB and Overdrive Energy Solutions. Together, they’ve replaced traditional diesel generators with modular battery systems powered by solar energy and the electrical grid, or with hybridized renewable diesel.

“Working with Goldenvoice has pushed us to think bigger, faster,” said Neel Vasavada, Co-Founder of Overdrive Energy Solutions. “They’ve challenged us to take proven concepts and apply them to more complex, higher-profile environments.”

In 2024, Goldenvoice partnered with REVERB’s Music Decarbonization Project, an initiative aimed at accelerating environmental sustainability across the music industry. The funding supported Goldenvoice’s ongoing transition into renewable energy at two of its regional festivals that year, Portola in San Francisco and Camp Flog Gnaw in Los Angeles.

“We’re thrilled to see AEG/Goldenvoice rapidly adopt clean energy technology and are proud to be a part of it,” said Adam Gardner, founder of REVERB. “This is exactly what our Music Decarbonization Project was created for.”

At the two-day Portola Music Festival, where an estimated 42,000 guests attended each day, the Ship Stage became the company’s first fully battery-powered stage, eliminating
the need for 6,053 gallons of diesel and avoiding 48.8 metric tons of CO₂ emissions.1

People dancing and listening to music at a stage at the Cali Vibes Music Festival. © AAlyssa Pascucci

Camp Flog Gnaw followed suit with longtime power partner, CES Power, recharging the majority of its five Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) with generators to enhance efficiency, according to data provided by Goldenvoice. Overdrive deployed over 30 BESS units providing over 5.4 megawatt hours of clean energy storage, charged primarily by grid power. The sold-out two-day festival at Dodger Stadium in City avoided over 4,261 gallons of diesel and 35.7 metric tons of CO₂ emissions. This transition marked a significant milestone in the industry’s shift toward renewable energy solutions.

Vasavada said that these methods result in up to a 99% reduction in harmful emissions and remove noisy, high-maintenance generators from sensitive areas like VIP lounges, artist compounds, and medical tents alongside stages. LED lighting is also used extensively across festival grounds in place of incandescent lights, reducing overall energy consumption.

Goldenvoice also implements a power “right-sizing” strategy, which aims at significantly reducing fuel consumption and eliminating energy waste. This data-driven approach measures real-time energy use from generators and batteries, enabling precise planning to deliver power efficiently and only where it’s needed.

These systems help streamline operations by offering greater flexibility in deployment, simplifying site design, and reducing the need for on-site fuel handling. Energy monitoring and data analytics enable continuous improvement, allowing the company to refine and scale its solutions from one event to the next without compromising the artist and fan experience.

Earlier this year Goldenvoice achieved a major feat at its Cali Vibes Music Festival in Long Beach, CA, following years of testing battery-powered stages within regional markets. For the first time in company history, they successfully scaled from powering just one or two stages with batteries, to running the festival’s main stage and second stage with hybridized battery systems, and a smaller “Boomyard” stage with 100% solar power and batteries.

Goldenvoice’s approach offers a replicable model for how live events can reduce their environmental footprint, while improving operational efficiency. As climate concerns grow and audiences increasingly expect sustainability from the brands they support, the greening of music festivals is becoming a strategic imperative. “[Goldenvoice is] willing to pilot new tech, collaborate deeply with partners, and build long-term strategies instead of settling for one-off gestures,” Vasavada said. “That mindset is rare in the live event space, and it’s what makes real change possible. It’s why we prioritize our work with them.”

About the Author
Meghan Tierney is a Senior Manager of Sustainability at AEG, a worldwide sports and live entertainment company. At AEG, she develops and executes sustainability strategies for large-scale music festivals, venues, and tours. She has led sustainability efforts for globally recognized events such as Coachella, Stagecoach, Goldenvoice Festivals, and the College Football Playoff National Championship.

Source

1. https://tinyurl.ee/AVCtW

Solar system recycling is now a rapidly growing business, working to keep pace with the growth of the solar industry. The number of solar recycling companies across the U.S. has been increasing exponentially in the last several years. The map on DOE’s website includes only a fraction of the companies now recycling solar systems.

Ideally, solar recycling facilities would also be set up to upcycle—that is, test the panels and move the good ones on to second-life projects. Many owners of solar PV systems that are at least 15 years old have decided to replace these systems to take advantage of the federal tax credits before they’re gone, and because newer equipment is so much more efficient. Most of these old solar panels can be reused or upcycled. There are many great projects out there involving upcycling and the reuse of solar panels.

Solar Kits for Schools

In Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia Solar Energy Association (PSEA) and Drexel University’s College of Engineering are collaborating to expand solar education in area middle and high schools through experiential learning with real solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, using diagnostic and other equipment and materials, and lesson plans.

What distinguishes PSEA’s Solar Kit is that it is made from an actual, repurposed solar PV panel that provided electricity to a resident for 20 years but still has years of useful life remaining. PSEA worked with Drexel Engineering faculty and students to test the panels, design the kit, and develop the lesson plans. PSEA will also be collaborating with George Washington Carver Engineering High School to build the kits.

Students will learn the fundamentals of electricity, how solar PV actually works, and how to harness the sun to do work, like pump water. This is accomplished through immersive, hands-on lessons. The kits also offer tremendous opportunities for ongoing free inquiry beyond the provided curriculum.

(Left) Repurposed solar panels from a PSEA Solar Kit. (Right) Pumping water from power of upcycled
solar panels. © Ron Celentano, PSEA Technical Director

Upcycling/Recycling Operation

PSEA played a pivotal role in encouraging Sycamore International, a very successful electronics recycling company based in West Grove, PA, to expand its operations into the emerging field of solar recycling.

At Sycamore’s recycling facility, solar panels, inverters, racking, and balance-of-system components are received, assessed, and processed. Every item is evaluated for reuse potential. Photovoltaic (PV) panels undergo performance testing, and those demonstrating greater than 85% of their original nameplate efficiency are earmarked for reuse. These panels are further inspected for wiring integrity, tested for resistance and open-circuit voltage, and repaired or re-terminated with new connectors where necessary.

Solar Panel testing at Sycamore International

Sycamore focuses on refurbishing equipment for reuse because it is more energy and capital-efficient to reuse materials than it is to recycle materials. Equipment deemed suitable for reuse is refurbished, cleaned, and prepared for resale in both domestic and international markets. Panels or components that do not meet reuse standards are separated to be responsibly dismantled and sorted by material category for downstream recycling.

Sycamore partners with various certified processors and refiners to maximize material recovery through mechanical, thermal, and chemical processes. Aluminum, glass, metallurgical-grade silicon, copper, silver, tin, and trace lead from legacy solder are efficiently extracted, supporting closed-loop recycling for reintegration into the manufacturing supply chain.

Through this initiative, Sycamore International is building a sustainable end-of-life program for solar equipment while promoting circular economy principles and maximizing resource recovery.

There is growing demand for second-life solar panels from the U.S., particularly in many African nations and other regions across the Global South. These markets are often underserved by traditional energy infrastructure but are rapidly embracing distributed solar as a cost-effective solution for electrification.

Solar panel testing. © Ron Celentano, PSEA Technical Director

Tested and refurbished panels offer a compelling value proposition, enabling schools, clinics, farms, and small businesses to access affordable, reliable energy.

As demonstrated by Sycamore’s new program, this emerging industry will play a vital role in delivering quality-assured, pre-owned solar equipment that supports energy access, economic development, and environmental stewardship on a global scale.

Power Up Gambia, a Philadelphia, PA-based nonprofit, has been donating and installing solar systems on hospitals in Gambia, West Africa, for decades. Many rural hospitals and clinics in Gambia have had to rely on diesel generators for electricity, a very expensive, polluting, and not always reliable source of power.

Low-cost, quality repurposed solar modules allow the installation of an inexpensive power source to run vaccine refrigerators, lights, lab equipment, and oxygen concentrators.

In addition, the sale of repurposed modules in the rural regions allows small farmers to afford water pumping systems—something of great value in a country with a 7-month-long dry season.

Repurposed modules from the USA are often of better quality and lower price than new but inferior quality panels that often show up in the African market. This helps build the solar industry in-country and disseminates knowledge into the rural areas where small solar projects have significant impact.

Cameroon and many other African countries are also providing growing markets for repurposed solar panels.

Solar panel usage in Africa. © GCShutter

Solar Panels for Ukraine

Andy Lenec and many volunteers from Boulder, Colorado, have sent more than 100 solar panels to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February of 2022. Russia has systematically targeted energy infrastructure, including nuclear plants, to inflict power outages and economic damage on Ukraine.

Volunteers of all ages connect portable car chargers to used solar panels, creating solar-powered USB chargers to send to Ukrainians who face unreliable electricity and power outages due to the ongoing war with Russia. With these devices, Ukrainians can charge their mobile devices and stay connected with loved ones, and receive emergency alerts.

The son of Ukrainian political refugees, Lenec grew up entrenched in Ukrainian culture and served in the Peace Corps in Ukraine. He uses his strong relationships with people living in Ukraine to effectively distribute aid. “It’s my duty to support Ukraine,” Lenec said. “But it’s the duty of every human being also to support a country that is fighting a proxy war for democracy, for freedom, for self-determination.”

The technical process of converting the solar panels is only one part of the work. Many of the volunteers spend most of their time painting the backs of the panels with colorful drawings and messages of support, in English and Ukrainian.

The project started out upcycling used solar panels, but transitioned to smaller, new panels as demand grew. Solar system recycling continues to be a fast-growing need across the U.S—and several companies are making great headways to upcycle and reuse solar panels to create a more circular economy.

About the Author
Liz Robinson is the Executive Director of the Philadelphia Solar Energy Association (PSEA), a nonprofit dedicated to expanding solar in PA. Prior to coming to PSEA, Liz founded and directed the Energy Coordinating Agency (ECA) and co-founded and directed the Keystone Energy Efficiency Alliance (KEEA) the energy efficiency trade association for Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

In war-torn Ukraine, where drone attacks have become a daily threat and infrastructure lies in ruins, survival now hinges on more than just food and shelter—it hinges on access to power.

As electricity grids are crippled by conflict and public utilities are rendered unreliable or entirely destroyed, the need for off-grid, secure energy sources has never been more urgent. Amid this backdrop, solar energy is emerging not just as an environmentally friendly solution, but as a literal life-saving force on the front lines.

The Crisis of Energy Insecurity

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, millions of civilians—particularly in the eastern and southern regions—have been forced to adapt to life without consistent access to electricity, heat, or water.

Entire communities in areas such as Sumy, Dnipro, Zaporizhia, and Kherson face daily hardships as infrastructure collapses under the pressure of war. Families often resort to burning firewood to prepare meals and stay warm, risking not only their health but their safety.

In many frontline zones, smoke from these fires can attract Russian drones that use visible indicators to locate
and strike targets. Even the simple act of cooking has become a dangerous signal in a war where anything revealing human presence can be used against civilians.

This ongoing threat has created a unique and urgent need for power that is not only clean and off-grid, but discreet. It’s in this dangerous and evolving context that the solar industry— traditionally seen as a tool for sustainable development—has found a powerful new role.

A Humanitarian Innovation Rooted in Solar

To meet this need, humanitarian organization Hope for Ukraine has launched the Solar Energy Resilience Program, an initiative designed to bring sustainable power directly to civilians living under the threat of war. The program distributes portable solar kits that include a 200-watt solar panel and a smoke-free electric stovetop. These kits offer a safe, reliable way for families to cook meals, charge phones, power lights, and keep small devices operational—critical needs in areas cut off from centralized resources.

A mother and daughter stand next to the solar panel provided with the Solar Resilience kits. © Hope for Ukraine

Each solar panel charges fully in about eight hours and generates enough energy to power a household’s most essential needs. More importantly, the electric cooktops included in the kits allow families to prepare warm meals without generating smoke, reducing the risk of detection by enemy forces.

So far, the program has delivered 80 kits to households in high-risk zones, with a goal of delivering at least 220 more by the end of 2025. The need is overwhelming—over 10,000 families are currently on the waiting list for one of these life-saving kits.

A New Model for Humanitarian Aid

Traditionally, humanitarian organizations have focused on short-term emergency aid—delivering food, water, blankets, and medicine. While this kind of support is essential in the immediate aftermath of disasters, it often lacks the infrastructure to help communities rebuild or adapt to long-term crises. Hope for Ukraine’s Solar Energy Resilience Program is helping to change that.

By shifting from short-term relief to long-term resilience, the program is setting a new precedent. Solar kits don’t just offer power—they restore autonomy. Families can prepare their own food, heat their homes, and keep their children engaged in remote learning with charged laptops. In doing so, they reclaim a sense of control and dignity in a landscape otherwise defined by instability and fear.

Other aid organizations are beginning to take notice. The success of Hope for Ukraine’s initiative is inspiring conversations around how renewable energy technologies can be deployed in other conflict zones. Solar power offers an inherently resilient form of energy that doesn’t rely on fragile infrastructure—making it an ideal solution for humanitarian aid in volatile regions.

Lighting the Path Forward

Through the Solar Energy Resilience Program, Hope for Ukraine is offering more than aid; it’s offering a path toward stability and safety. By leveraging renewable energy, the organization is proving that humanitarian innovation can deliver immediate relief while also building a foundation for recovery and resilience.

As Ukraine continues to endure the profound toll of war, programs like this demonstrate that even in the darkest of times, there are ways to bring light—literally and figuratively—to those who need it most.

About the Author
Yuriy Boyechko is a Founder and President of Hope For Ukraine Inc, a non-profit that serves individuals and families of the poorest communities in the Ukraine. After graduating from Regent University in 2005 with an MA in Media Communication, he has been involved in the media and entertainment industry ever since. In 2016, Hope For Ukraine was founded. His goal is to raise awareness for voices not heard in Ukraine, especially children affected by HIV and AIDS. Providing medical care for children with disabilities as well as food and clothing for families that live in extreme poverty is a lifetime commitment for Yuriy and his wife Tatyana.

Back when I served under Secretary Chu at the Department of Energy, we used to say energy efficiency was the “low-hanging fruit”— or even “the fruit on the ground”. Fast forward 15 years, and the landscape has changed dramatically. AI, cryptocurrency, and data centers are driving energy demand through the roof, and we now accept a projected 25% increase1 in U.S. electricity consumption by 2030.

On July 4 of this year, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) was passed, initiating a phased elimination of the solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC). The ITC for residential solar projects will end on December 31, 2025, except for those that begin construction before July 4, 2026, or become operational by December 31, 2027.

The ITC for commercial solar projects will follow a separate phase-out schedule, with details to be finalized by the Department of Energy later this year. Meanwhile, the federal response to grid congestion, transmission bottlenecks, and supply constraints is increasingly leaning on fossil fuels—an ironic twist in the energy transition.

Yet amid these challenges, a powerful and underutilized solution is hiding in plain sight: the rooftops of America’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and nonprofits. These buildings hold enormous untapped potential to decarbonize the grid, increase resilience, and generate long-term local benefits.

Even better, using power purchase agreements (PPAs) allows these businesses and organizations to receive solar with no upfront costs, freeing up capital for their businesses or non-profit work, while fixing an energy rate for a 20+ year term.

So far, the solar boom has focused on residential and utility-scale markets. Selling directly to homeowners or developing massive solar farms has made the headlines. But that’s changing. OBBBA is set to phase out residential tax credits after 2025, and utility-scale projects now face major uncertainty because of the 2027 placed-in-service deadlines.

As momentum shifts, SME (150 kW–5 MW) commercial and industrial (C&I) solar can finally take center stage.

Big Opportunities in Small and Medium-Sized C&I Solar

Real estate investment trusts, property owners, and financiers who have been waiting for the right moment—this is it. Companies like Sunrock Distributed Generation (Sunrock DG) are stepping in to serve SMEs and non-profit groups that historically couldn’t access PPAs or solar leases due to credit, size, or risk constraints. Here’s why this moment
is different:

1. Smarter Underwriting. Sunrock has developed proprietary underwriting tools that evaluate whether a customer will reliably pay a long-term fixed energy bill. That gives us confidence to support projects that were previously deemed “too risky” or “too small.”
2. Clarity on Tax Credits = faster speed to market. The U.S. Government has now set clear timelines for the ITC phase-out (2027, unless you begin construction or safe harbor before July 2026). The ambiguity around “foreign entity of concern” (FEOC) and safe harboring rules is resolving. The message is clear: now is the time to secure rooftops, queue for interconnection, and move quickly. As the market settles, capital will adapt. EPCs will sharpen their pencils, financiers will compress margins, and we’ll all benefit from reduced regulatory uncertainty.
3. Speed and Cost Advantage. Solar remains the fastest and most cost-effective generation resource to deploy, as shown year after year in Lazard’s Levelized Cost of Energy2 reports. When brownouts and blackouts hit—and they will—solar will be able to respond far more quickly than natural gas or nuclear projects, which face long permitting and construction timelines. Utilities need fast solutions, and C&I solar delivers.
4. Solar + Storage = Grid Value and Resiliency. One of the biggest winners in the OBBBA is energy storage, which will benefit from the full ITC until 2032. Sunrock DG’s ability to finance solar + storage PPAs and leases eliminates
   the concern of solar intermittency.
5. Storage enhances resilience and helps solve congestion challenges—something grid operators are desperate for, as highlighted in the NERC 2025 State of Reliability Report.3 Adding capacity (from solar+storage) in Texas, for example, reduced rolling blackouts from 12% to 0.3% so far this summer, according to the state’s grid operator, ERCOT.4
6. Utility rates are going sky high! No way around it—want to lock in a fixed rate? Sign a PPA while you increase your property value with solar on
   your roof.

Conclusion: Time to Double Down

C&I solar isn’t just a compelling decarbonization strategy—it’s a business opportunity whose moment has arrived. With strong policy tailwinds, better financing tools, and maturing market conditions, the rooftops of America’s commercial sector may well be the keystone to accelerating our clean energy future.

Let’s stop overlooking them.

About the Author
Claire Broido Johnson is the President of Sunrock Distributed Generation and a veteran climate tech entrepreneur. A SunEdison Co-Founder and former DOE Advisor, she has 30 years of experience scaling solar and clean energy platforms, driving innovation in project finance, and expanding access to distributed energy for diverse organizations.

Sources

1. https://tinyurl.ee/iDCCR
2. https://tinyurl.ee/SXBsX
3. https://tinyurl.ee/rNJur
4. https://tinyurl.ee/Kybro