Scaling commercial solar with Dave Riess, CEO and Co-Founder of Wunder

Last week we sat down with Dave Riess, the CEO and co-founder of Wunder. They’re working hard to scale mid-sized commercial solar projects, where they believe the real TAM is in this market. Dave is an awesome guy who’s been grinding in the space for years now, so we naturally had a ton to talk about.

* (00:02:55) Introduction and Guest Overview: Introduction of the hosts and the guest, David Reese, co-founder, and CEO of Wonder (formerly Wonder Capital).

* (00:07:33) Network-Based Energy Infrastructure: Discussion on evolving energy infrastructure to a more network-based architecture.

* (00:40:42) Commercial Solar Market Challenges: Analysis of why the commercial solar market isn't scaling more quickly.

* (00:50:25) Pricing and Merchant Exposure: Examination of pricing strategies and the risks of merchant exposure in solar projects.

* (00:57:49) Reducing Transaction Costs: Strategies to streamline the underwriting, structuring, and de-risking processes in solar projects.

* (01:27:39) DERs and Market Dynamics: Insights on the role of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) and their impact on the energy market.

* (01:34:42) Future of the Grid: Speculations on how the main grid might evolve or shrink in favor of the grid edge.

* (01:45:03) Technology Development vs. Deployment: The imbalance between resources allocated to technology development and deployment.

* (01:46:06) Solid-State Power Electronics: Potential impact of solid-state power electronics on grid infrastructure.

* (01:47:24) Energy Market Evolution: The slow evolution of the energy market and the role of capitalism in driving change.

* (01:48:38) Solving Energy Problems: Identifying and addressing the primary constraints in the energy market.

* (01:50:15) Transformer and Power Electronics: Discussion on transformers, power electronics, and their role in future energy systems.

* (01:50:59) DC Microgrids and EV Charging: Potential benefits of DC microgrids and advancements in EV charging technology.

* (01:51:34) Capital and Risk Management: Matching capital with the risk profile of solar assets and the importance of certainty in asset performance.

* (02:00:39) Revisiting Past Technologies: Reflection on past technological advancements and their relevance today.

* (02:01:25) Deployment Focus: Emphasis on the importance of focusing on the deployment of existing technologies.

* (02:12:35) CSP 2.0 for Data Centers: Exploration of CSP 2.0 technology for providing clean power to AI data centers.

* (02:14:36) Opinions on Emerging Technologies: Mixed views on the potential success of emerging energy technologies like CSP 2.0.

* (02:11:57) Solar and AI Data Centers: Discussion on the announcement of a new project for AI data centers using solar thermal energy.

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