Most conversations about agrivoltaics stay at the surface.

Rebekah Pierce didn’t set out to become a voice for solar. She was trying to solve a much simpler problem:

How do you make a small farm financially viable… without giving it up?

What followed was a shift — from seeing solar as a “necessary evil” to recognizing it as a tool that might fundamentally reshape how farms survive.

In this conversation, we unpack what’s actually happening on the ground:

🔹 What exactly is the business of solar grazing

🔹 Where the economics work — and where they don’t

🔹 Why “prime farmland” is often misunderstood

🔹 The gap between developer intent and rural reality

🔹 What breaks when you try to scale this model

This is less about sheep under panels…

…and more about what new revenue models might actually keep farms alive.

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🎧 Guest: Rebekah Pierce

Author of Agri-Energy: Growing Power, Growing Food

_____________________________________________________

If you’re curious about agrivoltaics, this is a perspective you don’t usually hear.

Hit play to hear why Rebekah Pierce believes agrivoltaics is not a side strategy. It is a glimpse of what farming could become.

Are there other technologies you’ve scouted on the frontlines of the Clean Energy Revolution that you think we should be covering here on SunCast?

Hit us up - team@suncast.me with your feedback & recommendations.

Check out OpenSolar OS 3.0 at: https://suncast.media/opensolar

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

Our Platinum Presenting Sponsor for SunCast is CPS America!

SunCast is also sponsored by Nextpower!

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

Remember, you can always find resources, learn more about today’s guest and explore recommendations, book links, and more than 875 other founder stories and startup advice at www.suncast.media.

Subscribe to Valence, our weekly LinkedIn Newsletter, and learn the elements of compelling storytelling: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/valence-content-that-connects-7145928995363049472/

You can connect with me, Nico Johnson, on:

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

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

AI isn’t just increasing demand for electricity - it’s changing how power behaves.

In this Tactical Tuesday, Nico Johnson sits down with Jon Parella of Terraflow Energy to break down a problem few people are talking about: modern AI data centers don’t draw power like traditional loads. They ramp rapidly, swing unpredictably, and introduce volatility that existing infrastructure wasn’t designed to handle.

That shift is putting real strain on generators, batteries, and the grid itself - accelerating wear, increasing complexity, and creating new risks for developers and investors alike.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

🔹 Why AI data centers behave differently from traditional power loads

🔹 How rapid load swings impact generators, lithium-ion batteries, and grid stability

🔹 What “controllable load” means - and why utilities and ISOs are prioritizing it

🔹 Where traditional power system design breaks down under AI-driven demand

🔹 Why being a responsive load could dramatically change interconnection timelines

Most importantly, you’ll understand what needs to change to make next-generation data center infrastructure reliable, scalable, and bankable.

If you’re developing, financing, or investing in data centers, energy infrastructure, or AI-driven growth, this episode will change how you think about the power system that it requires.

Are there other technologies you’ve scouted on the frontlines of the Clean Energy Revolution that you think we should be covering here on SunCast?

Hit us up - team@suncast.me with your feedback & recommendations.

You'll find more resources and learn about SunCast's guest(s), recommendations, book links, and more than 850 other founder stories and startup advice at www.mysuncast.com.

You can learn more about partnering with SunCast here: https://mysuncast.com/sponsors

You can connect with me, Nico Johnson, on:

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

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

Subscribe to Valence, our weekly Linkedin Newsletter, and learn the elements of compelling storytelling: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/valence-content-that-connects-7145928995363049472/

If you want to understand where the energy industry is heading, pay attention to the journalists tracking it every day.

Thankfully, we get to sit down with three of the most plugged-in reporters covering the energy transition: Sammy Roth of Climate-Colored Goggles (formerly w/ LA Times), Julian Spector of Canary Media, and Darrell Proctor of POWER Magazine.

What signals are shaping the market right now — from capital flowing into new energy projects to grid bottlenecks, AI-driven electricity demand, and the evolving narrative around fossil fuels and nuclear?

These are the conversations happening inside the clean energy newsroom.

Topics covered:

🔹 Why AI and hyperscale data centers are suddenly driving massive clean energy investment

🔹 The surprising rise of domestic solar manufacturing in the United States

🔹 Why grid interconnection queues remain one of the biggest barriers to new projects

🔹 How journalists are thinking about climate targets in a world already at 1.5°C

If you’re not already following Darrell Proctor, Julian Spector, and Sammy Roth then you’re missing the conversations and stories shaping the clean energy transition.

Are there other technologies you’ve scouted on the frontlines of the Clean Energy Revolution that you think we should be covering here on SunCast?

Hit us up - team@suncast.me with your feedback & recommendations.

Check out OpenSolar OS 3.0 at: https://suncast.media/opensolar

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

Our Platinum Presenting Sponsor for SunCast is CPS America!

SunCast is also sponsored by Nextpower!

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

Remember, you can always find resources, learn more about today’s guest and explore recommendations, book links, and more than 875 other founder stories and startup advice at www.suncast.media.

Subscribe to Valence, our weekly LinkedIn Newsletter, and learn the elements of compelling storytelling: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/valence-content-that-connects-7145928995363049472/

You can connect with me, Nico Johnson, on:

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

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

What does serious capital actually look for in the energy transition?

In this episode, Nico sits down with Brendan Bell, Co-Founder of Aligned Climate Capital and a former member of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office, to discuss how experienced investors evaluate energy companies, infrastructure projects, and management teams.

Brendan shares a practical look at:

• why raising capital has become more selective

• the common mistakes founders make when pitching investors

• what strong management teams do differently

• how infrastructure investors think about risk, scale, and long-term value

For founders, developers, and operators building in the energy transition, this conversation offers a clear view into how institutional investors actually make decisions.

Before co-founding Align Climate Capital, Brendan helped rebuild the U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office in the aftermath of the Solyndra collapse. From financing some of the earliest utility scale solar projects to backing companies like Tesla in its early days, he has spent his career sitting at the intersection of policy, infrastructure, and capital.

Now at Align, Brendan and his team invest across the clean energy ecosystem. Early stage companies developing new business models. And infrastructure portfolios that own and operate solar and storage assets.

If you’re building, financing, or investing in the energy transition, this one is packed with insights.

Listen in to understand how capital is shaping the next chapter of the global energy system.

Are there other technologies you’ve scouted on the frontlines of the Clean Energy Revolution that you think we should be covering here on SunCast?

Hit us up - team@suncast.me with your feedback & recommendations.

Check out OpenSolar OS 3.0 at: https://suncast.media/opensolar

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

Our Platinum Presenting Sponsor for SunCast is CPS America!

SunCast is also sponsored by Nextpower!

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

Remember, you can always find resources, learn more about today’s guest and explore recommendations, book links, and more than 875 other founder stories and startup advice at www.suncast.media.

Subscribe to Valence, our weekly LinkedIn Newsletter, and learn the elements of compelling storytelling: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/valence-content-that-connects-7145928995363049472/

You can connect with me, Nico Johnson, on:

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

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