Beyond the Layout

Jan Remund —  the mind behind Meteonorm — walks through how solar modeling actually came to be, and why a lot of it was built out of necessity, not precision.As solar gets cheaper, the problem shifts. It’s no longer about generating energy, it’s about making the system work. We get into why oversizing and curtailment can actually make more sense, and how grid and storage costs are now driving decisions.You start to realize the hard part isn’t the solar anymore.Have a question or perspective? Send it to the Beyond the Layout team.•••Beyond the Layout is a long-form solar industry podcast focused on honest, technical conversations with the people building the energy transition.Follow the show for future episodes and share with someone shaping the future of solar.

Tim Townsend — creator of the Townsend Snow Loss Model — joins us to talk about what decades of real field data say about PV performance, degradation, and winter production.We get into why the industry once believed PV didn’t degrade, how degradation assumptions get pushed lower in financial models, and why snow losses remain one of the hardest problems in solar forecasting.If you build, model, or finance solar projects, this conversation digs into the performance assumptions that quietly shape project economics.Have a question or perspective? Send it to the Beyond the Layout team.•••Beyond the Layout is a long-form solar industry podcast focused on honest, technical conversations with the people building the energy transition.Follow the show for future episodes and share with someone shaping the future of solar.

Most projects look bankable on paper. Fewer hold up when lenders start digging. Logan Boutilier, VP of Engineering at Aspen Power and a former DNV Engineer, joins us to break down what actually separates optimistic modeling from lender-grade engineering — why seemingly small modeling choices can quietly impact financing, performance, and long-term reliability. If you build, design, or finance solar, this conversation will hit home.Have a question or perspective? Send it to the Beyond the Layout team.•••Beyond the Layout is a long-form solar industry podcast focused on honest, technical conversations with the people building the energy transition.Follow the show for future episodes and share with someone shaping the future of solar.

What really happens after you hit submit on a solar interconnection? Utility engineer Ed Mirfin joins us to explain how utilities actually study solar project, what triggers costly upgrades, and how smarter design decisions can speed approvals. We cover voltage control, feeder strategy, queue realities, and the technical details that quietly shape project economics. If you build solar projects, this is the conversation happening behind the curtain.Have a question or perspective? Send it to the Beyond the Layout team.•••Beyond the Layout is a long-form solar industry podcast focused on honest, technical conversations with the people building the energy transition.Follow the show for future episodes and share with someone shaping the future of solar.