Numerous provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, now law, aren’t particularly friendly towards the solar industry. Aspen Power co-founder and CEO Jorge Vargas, while frustrated, isn’t losing sight of the bigger picture.
“We’ve been through a lot of these cycles,” Vargas told Paul Gerke on the Factor This podcast. “Our business has to make money in Democratic administrations and Republican administrations. So we’re nothing but resilient.”
“In this environment, we provide discounted power, and we will continue to do so,” he added, while still lamenting the magnitude of development that will be (and is currently being) curtailed by the hotly debated legislation.
Despite ongoing federal dismantling of renewable energy policy, a growing number of states are exploring the benefits of community solar, and that’s fantastic news for large distributed generation platforms like Aspen Power. On this episode of the Factor This podcast, Vargas rallies behind his industry at a critical moment, detailing the importance of continuing to pursue small-scale, hyper-local solar projects amid unprecedented electric load growth.
“We need electrons, whether they’re from gas, whether from solar, or from wind… But not from coal,” chuckled Aspen Power’s CEO, his plea for power stopping short of fossil fuels.
Other topics of discussion on the podcast include:
- Aspen Power’s growth into 19 states since its founding four years ago
- Why community solar still provides tangible savings even without ITC and PTC incentives
- Developing relationships with farmers and how “harvesting” land is taking on a new meaning
- How Aspen Power’s CEO practices what he preaches with an islanded home microgrid
- Hot, warm, and cold markets for community solar development
