Send us a text Rounak Kharait, E3's Executive Director of Solar, and Daniel Tarico, E3's Director of Renewables, discuss solar O&M cost models, suggesting that they need to be changed and made more realistic to reflect the true lifecycle maintenance requirements of utility-scale projects. Some of the highlights of the podcast are shown below: • Daniel brings expertise from metallurgy, construction, and tracker manufacturing to solar O&M discussions • Early solar financing models inc...

Send us a text In this final episode in the PVsyst series, Daniel Tarico and Frances Plourde discuss the impact of system design on photovoltaic (PV) system modeling, focusing particularly on shading losses and module mismatch within the context of using the PVsyst software. Frances also covers light-induced degradation (LID), which happens when PV modules are first exposed to sunlight, particularly affecting crystalline silicon modules with certain dopants. LID is a one-time effect but...

Send us a text In the third episode of the PVsyst series, Daniel Tarico and Frances Wilberg-Plourd from E3 discuss the interpretation of PVsyst reports and how they relate to PV system energy estimation, specifically focusing on how PVsyst calculates energy production using statistical probabilities. Key points: PVsyst Report Overview: The report begins with system inputs such as equipment, location, orientation, and shading factors, and then presents energy estimates, including monthly gener...

Send us a text Daniel Tarico and Frances Wilberg-Plourde delve into PV system modeling, specifically focusing on using climate data in PVsyst software. The discussion covers how climate data, such as irradiance, temperature, and wind speed, are critical for modeling PV system performance and affect energy production. The data is typically provided in an 8760 format, representing each hour of the year. Frances explains that PVsyst relies on typical meteorological year (TMY) files, which aggreg...

Send us a text Join Daniel Tarico and Frances Willberg Plourde as they kick off a discussion regarding the range of PV solar modeling programs available today. In this introductory episode, they explore the key differences between tools, setting the stage for a deep dive into PVsyst, the industry-standard software for PV system modeling. In a series of three following episodes, they provide an overview of PVsyst's capabilities, focusing on essential features that can help you design a customi...

Send us a text Ever wondered if central or string inverters are the way to go for your solar project? Join host Daniel Tarico, E3 director of renewables and Mike Kosmersky, E3 Consulting's head of field engineering services, as they discuss the impact of project size and location on inverter choice, sharing tales from our own experiences, including a one-megawatt project in rural India. They reflect on the importance of serviceability, reliability, and the changing landscape of inverter...

Send us a text Learn how Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) regulations are changing, with insights from Carol Ho, Executive Director of Environmental Services at E3. Carol and podcast host, Al Rettenmaier, Managing Director of Oil, Gas, Chemicals, CCS, and Hydrogen discuss the SEC's new climate disclosure rule, upcoming legal challenges, and how it might affect businesses. Carol also explains how the Inflation Reduction Act is reshaping project financing with incentives and tax cred...

Send us a text Join the conversation as we sit down with Francis Willberg, a Photovoltaic Analysis Engineer with E3, who discusses the challenge of solar panel retirement. As we approach a staggering 1 million metric tons of photovoltaic waste by 2030, discover how the industry is grappling with the financial and technological puzzles that come with recycling the complex "panini-like" layers of PV modules. In this episode, Frances and Al Rettenmaier, host of the Top 3 by E3 podcast, reveal ho...

Send us a text E3's Managing Director, Ginger Elbaum, and Energy Storage Owner's Engineer, Jason Han, discuss Electric Vehicles in this first episode in the EV series. During this podcast, Jason and Ginger talk about the different types of electric vehicles: light- and heavy-duty, and the opportunities and challenges of adopting electric vehicles and the associated infrastructure. Since this is a podcast about the top three takeaways, Jason provided his top three: 1) EVs ...

Send us a text Join Ginger Elbaum, E3's Managing Director, and Chris Wright, E3's Executive Director and head of the Energy Storage Practice, as they look at the trends impacting the renewable energy sector.

Send us a text In the most recent episode of The Top 3 by E3, E3's Managing Director, Ginger Elbaum, discusses the changing regulatory landscape for participants in the power industry with John Schmoker, Project Manager for NAES NERC Services. John specializes in NERC protection and modeling standards and joins Ginger to talk about some recent grid reliability trends and what those could mean for the power industry. For an accompanying document showing highlights of the podcast,...

Send us a text Increasingly, shareholders and stakeholders want to know that the companies they are investing in share their values of sustainability and equity, and do not have ties to corruption, environmental destruction, or human rights abuses. These are not only ethical and humanitarian issues but pose financial risks as well. In this podcast, E3 dives into the context and anticipated regulatory changes in this area, with Carol Ho, E3’s environmental engineer. One of ...

Send us a text In this episode of The Top 3 by E3, Ginger Elbaum, host of the podcast, and Chris Wright, E3's Energy Storage Executive Director, discuss highlights from the Energy Storage Summit held in Austin, Texas on March 23-24, 2022. E3 Consulting was proud to be a sponsor of the event and honored that Chris participated in two of the Summit's panels.

Send us a text In this fast-moving discussion about energy storage, E3's Ginger Elbaum and Chris Wright talk about the trends that E3 is seeing in the marketplace, particularly with regard to lithium-ion batteries. Chris notes that the top three trends he sees are the following: 1) The Age of Energy Storage is here. Market structures (i.e. state incentives - ISO RTO are changing, FERC is changing the grid and the way we interact with the grid and the way we consume energy, etc.)....

Send us a text In the third episode of the hydrogen series that is part of The Top Three by E3, Ginger Elbaum, managing director of E3, and Al Rettenmaier head of E3's oil, gas, and chemicals practice, discuss hydrogen as a vehicle fuel. During this episode, Al and Ginger look at the use of hydrogen as a vehicle fuel, discussing where the market is at, where the market is expected to go, and what types of vehicles are available at this time. Please join Al and...

Send us a text In this second episode of the Hydrogen Series, Al Rettenmaier and Ginger Elbaum discuss green hydrogen--how it is made, how it is used, what the economics are, and why it is considered the most valuable of the three classifications of hydrogen. We hope you can join Ginger and Al for their continuing discussion of hydrogen.

Send us a text Join Ginger Elbaum, E3 Managing Director, and Jim Langel, Head of E3's Solar Practice, for a discussion of what's trending in the solar market and what headwinds the industry is facing. One of the top trends we are seeing is that costs are going down, which hopefully put some money in everyone's pocket at the end of the day The second trend is the challenge that everyone's facing at home: COVID-19. The pandemic has impacted the solar industry over the last year an...

Send us a text In this episode of The Top 3 by E3, Al Rettenmaier, practice leader of E3's Oil, Gas, and Chemicals Sector, and Ginger Elbaum, E3's Managing Director, discuss the reasons that hydrogen, particularly green hydrogen, has been on the tip of everyone's tongue lately. It's almost impossible to miss the myriad conferences, articles, and podcasts about hydrogen generation and markets. But why is that? During this episode, Al will provide an introduction to the topic, explaining ...

Send us a text Welcome to E3's first episode of The Top 3 by E3! In this episode hosted by Ginger Elbaum, E3's Managing Director, Paul Plath, takes listeners inside the world of Independent Engineering. Paul is E3's President and one of the original founders of E3 Consulting over 22 years ago. With more than 30 years of experience and hundreds of project-financed projects under his belt, Paul has seen a lot. He discusses the myriad reasons that lenders, sponsors, and other stakeh...

Send us a text In this episode of The Top 3 by E3, Ginger Elbaum, E3's Managing Director, interviews Carol Ho, an E3 Senior Director and environmental engineer, about the impact that wind turbines have on wildlife. Carol provides an overview of the top three ways developers are attempting to minimize harm to wildlife, including: Installation of GPS/RadarNew Technology, such as DTBirdBat Deterrent TechnologyCarol's article on this topic is available by going to Wind Power and Its I...