Community Solar and Battery Economics with 18-Month Payback

Clean Power Hour

#EP308

What if you could slash your community's electricity costs by 40% while achieving true energy independence?

AJ Perkins transformed from business executive to renewable energy pioneer, building 3.8 gigawatts of microgrid projects worldwide. In this Clean Power Hour episode, he reveals how community-scale solar and battery systems are revolutionizing energy economics.

The breakthrough: AJ's team reduced payback periods from 7-11 years to just 18 months by combining solar, batteries, and grid services revenue. This creates a financial model that makes renewable energy irresistible to entire communities.

Real-world results include:

• A 3,000-home Hawaii development using the "Utility Light" model where communities own their energy infrastructure
• An Orange County mobile home park cutting electricity costs from 38¢ to 24¢ per kWh while adding AC for just 2¢ per kWh
• Why thinking in clusters of 50-1,000+ homes creates economies of scale impossible with individual installations

Tim and AJ explore the convergence of microgrids, Virtual Power Plants (VPPs), and infrastructure-as-a-service models that solve multiple municipal challenges simultaneously. They discuss California's public safety power shutoffs, utility partnerships, manufacturing reshoring, and practical strategies for scaling community energy projects.

Key insight: Instead of protecting one family, AJ protects entire communities. His approach prevents the dangerous scenario where only one house has power during blackouts while neighbors remain in the dark.

Whether you're a solar installer, utility professional, community leader, or clean energy investor, this episode provides actionable insights for building distributed energy infrastructure. AJ shares his complete playbook and offers to help others replicate these community-scale successes.

Connect with AJ Perkins

AJ Perkins

Instant ON

Support the show

Connect with Tim

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

Email [email protected]

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: [email protected]

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