Episode 911
911: Why Most C&I Solar Projects Don’t Succeed (It’s Not the Solar) | Aaron Wilson, Solar One
Most C&I solar projects don’t fall short because of the solar itself.
They struggle because deals aren’t structured correctly, markets are misunderstood, or developers take on opportunities that were never a fit to begin with.
In this episode of SunCast, Nico Johnson sits down with Aaron Wilson, co-founder and CEO of Solar One, to unpack what actually separates projects that get built and deliver long-term value - from the ones that stall, get delayed, or fail to meet expectations.
Aaron didn’t come up through traditional solar channels. He started in commodities - trading steel and silicon across Europe and China - before moving into development and building Solar One into a vertically integrated C&I solar company operating in markets like Long Island and Texas.
Along the way, he’s:
- Built projects in markets most developers overlooked
- Helped stand up hundreds of megawatts in Texas - before the market was ready
- Made deliberate decisions to walk away from residential solar
- And developed a disciplined approach to choosing markets, customers, and deals
In this conversation, we explore:
🔹 Why Solar One chose C&I over the residential gold rush
🔹 What business owners actually need from a solar partner in an era of rising electricity costs
🔹 Why great entrepreneurs are driven by purpose, not ruled by fear
🔹 How to evaluate whether a market is actually viable (vs just “hot”)
🎧 Listen now to learn how to build C&I solar projects that actually deliver.
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