Episode 397

397: How to disrupt a $19B market? Erthos' Daniel Flanigan (CMO) & Charles Pimentel (CCO)

Published on: 2nd September, 2021

What does it look to disrupt an industry? What does it take to make a career of it? And as Jim Collins suggested, WHO do you need to get on the bus?

In Today's episode Nico gets into these details with Solar pioneers Daniel Flanigan and Charles Pimentel as we navigate their clean energy career paths through Offgrid solar, Hydrogen (Plug Power), Solar modules & Development (Canadian Solar, Solar Frontier), Installation & Construction (Zep Solar, Solar City, Tesla, Depcom) & more! Along the way, we discover how & why they have come together for a second time to upend a well-established sector of the market (Utility-scale solar deployment) through innovation, timing and ultimately building a great team - this time, with Erthos.

The discussion focuses on changing the way we all think about developing, designing, constructing, and operating utility scale solar plants. The $19B solar tracker market is but a slice over the overall market, but Erthos is taking on some of the industry titans with a "new way" of doing things reminiscent of Daniel's time at Zep.

Erthos has assembled a veritable dream team of industry veterans to bring a very simple solution to what is otherwise a pretty complicated and risky business, constructing solar plants, in an attempt to, as they put it, "fundamentally transform the utility-scale solar industry globally”.  They're on a quest and taking the industry norms head on to do just that. Will it work? What could stop them? Tune in and let me know Your takeaways, or push back. Either way, we welcome the dialogue, and hope you enjoy this one.

If you want to connect with today's guest, you’ll find links to his contact info in the show notes on the blog at https://mysuncast.com/suncast-episodes/.

Our Platinum Presenting Sponsor for SunCast is CPS America!

SunCast is proudly supported by Trina Solar.

You can learn more about all the sponsors who help make this show free for you at www.mysuncast.com/sponsors.

Remember, you can always find resources, learn more about today’s guest and explore recommendations, book links, and more than 730 other founder stories and startup advice at www.mysuncast.com.

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Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/nicomeo

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickalus

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About the Podcast

SunCast
Your resource for developing a clean energy or climate tech career
Nico Johnson takes you into conversations with those at the forefront of Renewable Energy.

SunCast gives an inside look into what is happening in renewable energy. From conversations with the biggest Solar Panel manufacturers in the world to the small startups creating the future of renewable energy, such as carbon capture and battery technology breakthroughs.

SunCast is dedicated to providing the knowledge, research, tools and expert guidance you need to understand, grow and be ahead of the curve in the fastest-growing markets in the world.

Featuring over 600 conversations, Nico has interviewed people from Tesla, SolarCity, Trina Solar, Meyer Burger, Conergy, SunEdison, Energy Vault and even the US Government... to name a few. Covering topics such as Solar Power, Wind Energy, Batteries, Electric Vehicles, Carbon Capture, Finance, Hydrogen, and more.

You can watch SunCast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SunCastMedia

...or view the full archive of SunCast episodes here: https://mysuncast.com/suncast-episodes