Billion-dollar weather emergencies hit the United States every 19 days. In the 1980s, they came every 90 days. The grid is still running, but communities are paying the price when it fails. Elisa Wood, founder of Energy Changemakers and host of the Energy Changemakers podcast, joins Tim Montague on The Clean Power Hour to explain why community microgrids are the missing layer in grid resilience, where they are actually working, and what is stopping most communities from building them.

In this Episode:

• You will learn exactly how a community microgrid differs from standard solar and storage, specifically the islanding capability that keeps critical services running when the main grid fails.
• You will understand why the "over the fence" rule blocks most community microgrid projects and how California is beginning to create exceptions that other states could follow.
• You will learn why resilience has no assigned dollar value in today's grid market, and why that missing valuation is the root cause of the community microgrid funding problem.
• You will hear which states are leading on community microgrid development right now and why federal funding cuts have made state and local action the only real path forward.
• You will learn why utilities have a structural reason to resist community microgrids and what financial incentive changes could shift that dynamic.
• You will take away a community engagement lesson from Cascadia Renewables in Washington State, showing that talking to residents before doing engineering studies is what determines whether a project wins local support or stalls.

With federal support retreating and extreme weather intensifying, the window for state-level action on community microgrids is narrow. The case studies in this episode show that community microgrids save lives, reduce economic losses from outages, and create local energy wealth. Clean energy professionals who want to move these projects forward need to understand the regulatory barriers, the funding gaps, and the community engagement strategies that separate successful projects from stalled ones.

Connect with Elisa Wood

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elisawood/

Website: https://energychangemakers.com/

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The Clean Power Hour is produced by the Clean Power Consulting Group and created by Tim Montague. Contact us by email: CleanPowerHour@gmail.com

Corporate sponsors who share our mission to speed the energy transition are invited to check out https://www.cleanpowerhour.com/support/

The Clean Power Hour is brought to you by CPS America, maker of North America’s number one 3-phase string inverter, with over 6GW shipped in the US. With a focus on commercial and utility-scale solar and energy storage, the company partners with customers to provide unparalleled performance and service. The CPS America product lineup includes 3-phase string inverters from 25kW to 275kW, exceptional data communication and controls, and energy storage solutions designed for seamless integration with CPS America systems. Learn more at www.chintpowersystems.com

Revenue from aging solar assets can now more than double through redevelopment. Matt Murphy, CEO of Flux Energy, joins Tim Montague on the Clean Power Hour to explain how. Murphy, a 20-year solar industry veteran and former Greenbacker executive, launched Flux Energy to focus on repowering and redeveloping existing solar farms, adding energy storage, renegotiating contracts, and replacing outdated panels with modern technology. His claim: deploying capital into operating assets delivers returns as good or better than building new projects from scratch.

With SREC 1 and SREC 2 programs expiring in Massachusetts and solar panels from the early 2010s producing a fraction of what today's 750-watt modules deliver, the opportunity for solar asset redevelopment is growing fast.

Here's what you'll learn in this conversation about repowering and redeveloping aging solar assets:

• Learn how Murphy's "redevelopment" strategy stacks new revenue streams on existing solar farms by adding battery storage, repowering with modern panels, and renegotiating offtake agreements.
• Understand the scale of the efficiency gap: panels installed a decade ago were 120-watt modules, while today's range from 600 to 800 watts. A repowered site on the same acreage produces up to four or five times the energy output.
• Find out why Flux Energy prefers DC-coupled battery storage.
• You'll hear how Murphy restores EBITDA to peak incentive levels, then connects sellers with IPP buyers in what he calls "solar house flipping."
• Learn why about 50% of the decommissioned panels Flux has evaluated so far have secondary market value at a few cents per watt.

As the ITC phases down and a rush to complete new projects dominates industry attention, a parallel opportunity is emerging in the existing fleet. With state incentive programs expiring and aging assets underperforming, companies like Flux Energy represent a new segment of the solar industry focused on extracting maximum value from what has already been built.

Connect with Matt Murphy, Flux Energy

Matt’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-murphy-b900877a/

Flux Energy Website: https://www.fluxenergy.com/

Support the show

Connect with Tim

Clean Power Hour
Clean Power Hour on YouTube
Tim on Twitter
Tim on LinkedIn

Email tim@cleanpowerhour.com

Review Clean Power Hour on Apple Podcasts

The Clean Power Hour is produced by the Clean Power Consulting Group and created by Tim Montague. Contact us by email: CleanPowerHour@gmail.com

Corporate sponsors who share our mission to speed the energy transition are invited to check out https://www.cleanpowerhour.com/support/

The Clean Power Hour is brought to you by CPS America, maker of North America’s number one 3-phase string inverter, with over 6GW shipped in the US. With a focus on commercial and utility-scale solar and energy storage, the company partners with customers to provide unparalleled performance and service. The CPS America product lineup includes 3-phase string inverters from 25kW to 275kW, exceptional data communication and controls, and energy storage solutions designed for seamless integration with CPS America systems. Learn more at www.chintpowersystems.com

LG Energy Solution and GM are converting their Tennessee EV battery plant to LFP production for the US grid storage market. The $70 million retooling signals a broader industry shift as EV demand in the US slows and grid storage demand accelerates. Tim Montague and John Weaver break down what this means for battery pricing, domestic manufacturing, and project developers on this week's Clean Power Hour Live.

They also cover the natural gas supply disruption that sent European energy prices up 27%, balcony solar legislation advancing in 24 states, and the debut of robotic solar construction from Terabase Energy.

Episode Highlights:

• Iran attacked a major gas facility in Qatar that produces roughly 17% of Qatar's output. John Weaver estimates this takes 3.5% of the global natural gas supply offline for at least a year. (Source)
• Illinois is among 24 states advancing balcony solar legislation. A Canary Media story reports that a balcony system at $3 per watt costs about $2,000 and saves consumers $400 per year. (Canary Media)
• LG Energy Solution and GM are converting their Ultium Cells joint venture in Tennessee from EV battery production to LFP batteries for the US grid storage market. (PV Magazine Energy Storage)
• Terabase, the automated solar construction platform, is ready for full market debut. The company assembles module tables on torque tubes in a covered structure, then uses robotic vehicles to transport them to field positions. (Solar Power World) Tim has interviewed Terabase CEO Matt Campbell on the Clean Power Hour (Episode 165)
• Global battery storage deployment hit 17 gigawatt hours in February 2026, a 60% increase over February 2025. (Energy Storage News)

Support the show

Connect with Tim

Clean Power Hour
Clean Power Hour on YouTube
Tim on Twitter
Tim on LinkedIn

Email tim@cleanpowerhour.com

Review Clean Power Hour on Apple Podcasts

The Clean Power Hour is produced by the Clean Power Consulting Group and created by Tim Montague. Contact us by email: CleanPowerHour@gmail.com

Corporate sponsors who share our mission to speed the energy transition are invited to check out https://www.cleanpowerhour.com/support/

The Clean Power Hour is brought to you by CPS America, maker of North America’s number one 3-phase string inverter, with over 6GW shipped in the US. With a focus on commercial and utility-scale solar and energy storage, the company partners with customers to provide unparalleled performance and service. The CPS America product lineup includes 3-phase string inverters from 25kW to 275kW, exceptional data communication and controls, and energy storage solutions designed for seamless integration with CPS America systems. Learn more at www.chintpowersystems.com