
Bonus Episode:REALLY True Solar Stories -- Live From RE+ 2024!
Explicit content warning
04/04/25 • 48 min
On the next Probably True Solar Stories, we're going rogue for a midseason bonus episode! Instead of the strange and wonderful fictional solar stories that we usually tell, we're going to share some strange and wonderful REALLY True Solar Stories from actual solar workers and solar industry leaders.
There are around 279,000 solar industry workers today. And about 40,000 of those came to the RE+ conference in Anaheim, California in September 2024. And about 100 of those attendees came to my annual Social Views & Brews Happy Hour that I host with the support of the generous and beautiful people who run RE+.
After a few beers, I gave people three prompts to boost their REALLY True Solar Story memories. In alphabetical order, you'll hear stories from:
- Gwen Brown
- Tom Cheney
- Ian Hoffbeck
- Nico Johnson
- Peter Kelly
- Ryan Mayfield
- Spenser Meeks
- Jigar Shaw and Jeff Wolfe (told together)
- Greg Smith
- Jeff Spies
- Sean White
- Jim Wood
- Ben Zientara
After all those stories, I'll tell you my personal story about the solar mentor that I'll always remember and appreciate.
You can also watch this episode on the Probably True Solar YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/DSqi-MQinAE
I hope you enjoy these REALLY true solar stories. If you've never heard our fictional solar stories, explore the last three seasons at ProbablyTrueSolar.com or on your favorite podcast app.
Season Four is coming up this summer!
True Solar Takeaways
- IREC stands for the Interstate Renewable Energy Council
- NABCEP stands for the The North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners
- Listen to Nico Johnson's Suncast podcast here or on your favorite podcast streaming service.
- Listen to Jigar Shah, Katherine Hamilton, and Stephen Lacey on the Open Circuit podcast.
- Brands mentioned in people's stories were Aurora Solar, Trina Solar, and SEG Solar, Planet Plan Sets, and Solar Reviews.
- Solar publications mentioned in this episode included PV Tech, Solar Power World, and Renewable Energy World (aka Factor This).
-----
- Visit ProbablyTrueSolar.com to sign up for the newsletter to learn about new episodes and live solar storytelling events.
- Support the show by visiting the merch store and buying a tee shirt!
- Learn how sponsors can be a part of Probably True Solar Stories and tell their own creative stories.
- Follow @SolarFred and/or @ProbTrueSolar on Twitter to discuss episodes
- Don't forget to:
- Subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast streaming service
- Rate
- Review, and
- Share!
On the next Probably True Solar Stories, we're going rogue for a midseason bonus episode! Instead of the strange and wonderful fictional solar stories that we usually tell, we're going to share some strange and wonderful REALLY True Solar Stories from actual solar workers and solar industry leaders.
There are around 279,000 solar industry workers today. And about 40,000 of those came to the RE+ conference in Anaheim, California in September 2024. And about 100 of those attendees came to my annual Social Views & Brews Happy Hour that I host with the support of the generous and beautiful people who run RE+.
After a few beers, I gave people three prompts to boost their REALLY True Solar Story memories. In alphabetical order, you'll hear stories from:
- Gwen Brown
- Tom Cheney
- Ian Hoffbeck
- Nico Johnson
- Peter Kelly
- Ryan Mayfield
- Spenser Meeks
- Jigar Shaw and Jeff Wolfe (told together)
- Greg Smith
- Jeff Spies
- Sean White
- Jim Wood
- Ben Zientara
After all those stories, I'll tell you my personal story about the solar mentor that I'll always remember and appreciate.
You can also watch this episode on the Probably True Solar YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/DSqi-MQinAE
I hope you enjoy these REALLY true solar stories. If you've never heard our fictional solar stories, explore the last three seasons at ProbablyTrueSolar.com or on your favorite podcast app.
Season Four is coming up this summer!
True Solar Takeaways
- IREC stands for the Interstate Renewable Energy Council
- NABCEP stands for the The North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners
- Listen to Nico Johnson's Suncast podcast here or on your favorite podcast streaming service.
- Listen to Jigar Shah, Katherine Hamilton, and Stephen Lacey on the Open Circuit podcast.
- Brands mentioned in people's stories were Aurora Solar, Trina Solar, and SEG Solar, Planet Plan Sets, and Solar Reviews.
- Solar publications mentioned in this episode included PV Tech, Solar Power World, and Renewable Energy World (aka Factor This).
-----
- Visit ProbablyTrueSolar.com to sign up for the newsletter to learn about new episodes and live solar storytelling events.
- Support the show by visiting the merch store and buying a tee shirt!
- Learn how sponsors can be a part of Probably True Solar Stories and tell their own creative stories.
- Follow @SolarFred and/or @ProbTrueSolar on Twitter to discuss episodes
- Don't forget to:
- Subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast streaming service
- Rate
- Review, and
- Share!
Previous Episode

A Declaration of Probably True Solar Independence (Encore)
For July 4th, I asked ChatGPT to write a version of the Declaration of Independence for solar power. The result was pretty good, so I wanted to share it.
"When in the course of human development, it becomes necessary for individuals and communities to break free from the dependence on unsustainable and finite sources of energy, and to embrace the abundance of renewable solar power, a respect for the laws of nature and sustainability requires that they should declare the reasons.
For this transition, we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all individuals and communities have the right to access and generate energy from the sun, the ultimate source of light and life on our planet..." (listen to the full episode).
Thanks for listening. If you agree with this declaration, make a commitment to only vote for politicians who support the rapid deployment of residential, commercial, and utility solar power.
-----
- Visit ProbablyTrueSolar.com to sign up for the newsletter to learn about new episodes and live solar storytelling events.
- Support the show by visiting the merch store and buying a tee shirt!
- Learn how sponsors can be a part of Probably True Solar Stories and tell their own creative stories.
- Follow @SolarFred and/or @ProbTrueSolar on Twitter to discuss episodes
- Don't forget to:
- Subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast streaming service
- Rate
- Review, and
- Share!
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