Getting Involved with ISEA with Brian Haug | EP183

All these groups that have been involved in the legislation down in Springfield for many years, have put together the legislation that we have that's allowed us to grow. And ISEA has played an integral part of that and continues to play an integral part of that and becoming a member and getting active will allow you to have your voice heard, and be able to help direct and learn and stay involved and in touch with your legislators to know how the industry is moving as time goes on and allow your business to grow as well.

Are you speeding the energy transition? Here at the Clean Power Hour, our hosts, Tim Montague and John Weaver bring you the best in solar batteries and clean technologies every week? I want to go deeper into decarbonisation. We do too. We're here to help you understand and command the commercial, residential and utility, solar, wind and storage industries. So let's get to it. Together, we can speed the energy transition.

As part of our continuing series about the Illinois solar market, and I see at the Illinois solar and storage Association. We're interviewing Brian Haug. Brian is a repeat guest on the show. He's my former boss at continental energy solutions. He is the president of continental energy solutions in Chicago, and a very storied solar professional, he really got in early, getting into solar in 2008. So he's an OG now. And I want to welcome Brian to the show.

Yeah, thank you, Tim. Thanks for having me. Nice to be a repeat visitor, for sure. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I think I think being called the

For sure. Hey, check out all of our content at cleanpowerhour.com Give us a rating and review on Apple and OG for anything makes me makes me feel a little old. But we, we Spotify. That is the best thing you can do to help others find this content. And check out our YouTube channel. We have a very started so I'll give you a little bit of background about robust YouTube, we're dropping one or two videos a week. So Brian, we're geeking out on the Illinois solar market, something you and I both love to geek out on. And you know it is truly your life flooded and is a big part of my life blood. So tell us a little bit about, you know how you've seen the market change, gosh, since Oh, eight dramatic changes. But really, the last five years have been an explosion of solar in Illinois. And we're now on the National Map. And many national organizations operating here in Illinois, but you're you're a born and bred native Illinois company. Tell us a little bit about your history in the industry. And then we'll dive continental we started in 1912. So the company has been in in into some more related material to I see. Chicagoland for a long time. And we started getting into the energy space in oh eight, like you said, Tim, and I have grown through the solar coaster, as we like to say here in Illinois, and and made it to the point where we are now where the market is actually very robust. And, and growing. So it's been, it's been a hard ride. But when we first started, we decided that we needed to get if we were going to jump into the energy space, we needed to jump in with both feet. And I came across the organization ISDA. That's been around for 40 years, and decided that's where we needed to get involved. And I've been involved for many, many years, and like you said, played played the role as the past president and been on the board of directors for several years. And it is it has helped us get to where we are now for sure. You know, I was I was talking to Mike Hall a couple months ago at RT plus he is the founder of Borrego, and now a company called De Anza. He got it into solar and oh two. And in oh two, we were doing one megawatt a year in the United States, we're now doing 30 gigawatts. So 30,000 fold increase from from 2002 to today here in 2023. And so in 21 years, and Illinois kind of a delayed version of that. Right. And we got our first RPS and oh eight, but it's really in 2016 that we got the first bedrock legislation in Seija. Now we have something called sorry, we got fija in 2016. Now we have something called CGI, the climate inequitable JOBS Act, but how have you seen the industry grow in terms of the players the scale of the CNI industry? The DG industry that's really our lifeblood in solar is DG solar that includes large CNI, small CNI and residential and then community solar. But tell us a little bit how you see the market.

It's taken a long time you know, the, the solar has been very, very prolific on the east and west coast and the Midwest. I have a friend of mine, all the Midwestern states, the flyover states, right, because they're inconsistent, somewhat inconsequential, according to him. But, but now that solar has found its way to the Midwest, and the Illinois has had such a robust RPS, it's absolutely taken off. It's that proverbial hockey stick growth. And it's been somewhat challenging to keep up with I mean, I can't imagine I remember we were talking maybe four years ago, or five years ago, how maybe 60 developers had had made their way to Illinois. And I would guess it's probably double that now. They're coming out of the woodwork. Illinois has not only grown in everything you've said on solar, but now with storage as well, having incentives for solar for storage, that has really put us on the map. And we've seen incredible growth, and see that lasting for quite some time. Now. You know, I know that the seeds are supposed to last till 2030, I think we're going to have to have a few tweaks on that just to make sure we have that runway. But it is, it's certainly here to stay for quite some time.

We want existing and prospective members of ISEA, the Illinois solar and storage association to understand where we've been, where we're going and how we're going to get there. And you know, one of the things that I love is if you talk to any seasoned solar professional in Illinois or elsewhere, and you ask them kind of what are three very important things to have a robust market, one of their top threes will be get involved with your state organization. So in Illinois, that is ISEA. And so if you're working in solar in Illinois, whether you're based here or based elsewhere, you want to help the industry grow and have stable footing. And we have wonderful legislation in Seija. But trust me, it will be under attack from the utilities and other parties that want solar to go away, basically. So what do you say, Brian, to prospective members about why they should consider getting involved or more involved, if they're already members, with ISEA ?

Sure, I make no mistake. The reason we have the legislation that we have is because of organizations like ISDA, national sia vote solar CCSA. All these groups that have been involved in the legislation down in Springfield, for many years, have put together the legislation that we have that's allowed us to grow. And ISEA has played an integral part of that and continues to play an integral part of that and becoming a member and getting active will allow you to have your voice heard, and be able to help direct and learn and stay involved and in touch with your legislators to know how the industry is moving as time goes on and allow your business to grow as well. So it's it's been, it's been priceless for us to be part of part of ISEA that's for sure.

The Clean Power Hour is brought to you by CPS America. The maker of North America's number one three phase string inverter with over six gigawatts shipped in the US. The CPS America product lineup includes three phase string inverters ranging from 25 to 275 kW, their flagship inverter, the CPS 250 to 75 is designed to work with solar plants ranging from two megawatts to two gigawatts, the 250 to 75 pairs well, with CPS America's exceptional data communication controls and energy storage solutions, go to chintpowersystems.com. To find out more. I mean, it's an instant peer group basically right of other installers, developers, OEMs. And service providers, those are kind of the big buckets of types of companies involved in the solar industry. And, and so if you want to keep a read on what's going on in Illinois, you know, in real time, the only way to do that is to be involved in what's going on and ISEA and I would encourage existing members to reach out to me and Lesley McCain, the executive director about ways that you can get more involved if you're already involved. If you're not involved. also reach out to me, I'm helping ISEA onboard new members. So just go to LinkedIn. Look for Tim Montague, I'm easy to find, and reach out to me on my website, clean power hour.com where all of this content lives. So you see, for example, Brian, what's going on in California with nem 3.0. It has been a wrecking ball for the solar industry in this last year. And and that's the future, right? California. What happens in California happens elsewhere in clean energy in the United states that it is the bellwether state. And so we have to be on guard and we have to take collective action to increase our footing for good. For a good industry, we need good net metering rules, right? We get we need renewable energy credits, right, we need robust incentives, because we're our societies incentivizing other industries simultaneously, like the nuclear industry, like the oil and gas industries. And so solar and wind are no different. But when you think about a ISEA, you've been very, very involved, right? You were the president for many years. And you're going to these events, you're, you're you're helping to steer the ship, so to speak. What else should our prospective members and existing members know how they can get involved and how they can benefit?

So don't don't I want to make sure people don't think that all they're going to be doing is going down to Springfield, and lobbying and contacting legislators and stuff like that. It's much more than that. The network that we've been able to put together of competitors and non competitors, is fantastic. I mean, there are so many aspects to this industry and the legislation, but not one person can understand all of it. So the networking, I can't tell you how many times I'll be able to pick up the phone and call somebody and say, Hey, what's the the restriction on, you know, heights of solar in the city of Chicago? Or what are the what are the rules about having apprentices on your projects in order to get the IRA funds and things like that, so there's so much of it, that that everybody knows pieces and parts of it, and having that network of people to reach out to is is, is very valuable for us? And I think that I mean, let's face it, it's not breaking the bank becoming a member of ASEA. You know, it's a nominal amount, but it immediately gives you that ability to socialize and network and learn and, and get involved in the industry that you've chosen. I mean, this is what we're here for a purpose. You know, we've all chosen the solar industry, and you don't want to be a riding on other people's coattails, right, get involved and make a difference. And that's what a lot of us have done. And especially UTM, you've you've been involved for a long time, and it's been great. And we certainly appreciate you helping out ISDA and growing the membership.

Well, it's really my pleasure and honor, I, you know, I hosted and I see a meeting back in 2008, just before I moved to central Illinois, from Chicago, and had had no one Brandon back in the day as early as oh five. But, you know, Illinois is a complicated market. Okay, if you're working in solar in Illinois, you need friends, sophisticated installers and developers will be very successful. Illinois is a great solar market. It just is complicated. And I think that is the number one reason why you want to get involved with ISEA and have a peer group who you can call on and get the skinny so that you don't make mistakes. I like to say, you know, I don't know what I don't know. And as a result, I'm going to make a lot of mistakes. And that's just going to be painful for you and your company and for the industry. We want more well educated actors in the state of Illinois so that we can get things done and get the grid greened. So with that, I'll say thank you so much. Brian Haug for being here. Thank you for your role growing the industry, you're a very robust APC in Chicago, how can our listeners find continental and yourself?

Sure, you can go to our website at cesnrg.com. Or you can email me at Brianhaug@cesnrg.com. And we're happy to help. Like you said, we've been here a long time and we plan on being here much, much longer.

Check out all of our content at cleanpowerhour.com, please check out the Illinois solar and storage Association at Illinoissolar.org. And reach out to me Tim Montague on LinkedIn or on my website, cleanpowerhour.com If you want to come on the show, if you want to learn more about ISEA. And I'm always here to talk solar. So with that said, let's grow solar and storage. Thanks so much, Brian.

Thanks, Tim. Take care.

Hey, listeners. This is Tim. I want to give a shout out to all of you. I do this for you. Twice a week. Thank you for being here. Thank you for giving us your time. I really appreciate you and what you're all about. out, you are part and parcel of the energy transition, whether you're an energy professional today, or an aspiring energy professional. So thank you. I want to let you know that the Clean Power Hour has launched a listener survey. And it would mean so much to me. If you would go to cleanpowerhour.com. Click on the About Us link right there on the main navigation that takes you to the about page. And you'll see a big graphic listener survey, just click on that graphic, and it takes just a couple of minutes. If you fill out the survey, I will send you a lovely baseball cap with our logo on it. The other thing I want our listeners to know is that this podcast is made possible by corporate sponsors. We have chin power systems, the leading three phase string inverter manufacturer in North America. So check out CPS America. But we are very actively looking for additional support to make this show work. And you see here our media kit. With all the sponsor benefits and statistics about the show, you know, we're dropping two episodes a week. We have now over 320,000 downloads on YouTube. And we're getting about 45,000 downloads per month. So this is a great way to bring your brand to our listeners and our listeners our decision makers in clean energy. This includes projects executives, engineers, finance, project management, and many other professionals who are making decisions about and developing, designing, installing and making possible clean energy projects. So check out cleanpowerhour.com both our listener survey on the about us and our media kit and become a sponsor today. Thank you so much. Let's go solar and storage