Why Utility-Scale Solar Is Quietly Failing in 2026? #349

Why Utility-Scale Solar Is Quietly Failing in 2026? #349

From Clean Power Hour by Tim Montague, John Weaver

May 12, 2026 · 27 min

About this episode

Dean Solon discusses the challenges facing utility-scale solar equipment and the state of American solar manufacturing.

American solar manufacturing is getting a reboot. Dean Solon, founder of Create Energy and formerly of Shoals Technologies, sold 1 GW of product in Q1 of this year alone. In this episode, he walks Tim Montague through his vertically integrated factory in Portland, Tennessee, and names exactly why utility-scale solar equipment is quietly failing at scale. American solar manufacturing has a reliability problem, and the utilities and independent power producers who own these fields for 30...

People in this episode

Host: Tim Montague

Guest: Dean Solon

Topics covered

  • utility-scale solar
  • solar manufacturing
  • reliability issues
  • energy production
  • business challenges

Keywords

  • utility-scale solar
  • solar manufacturing
  • Dean Solon
  • Create Energy
  • reliability problem

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Create Energy, Shoals Technologies

Places: Portland, Tennessee, American

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