Episode Title: Beyond Installation — The Future of Solar Lifecycle Management

The solar industry just got a lot more complicated. Federal tax credits are gone for residential. Commercial safe harbor deadlines are colliding with supply chain chaos. And the companies that built their entire model on "install and move on" are scrambling.

In this episode of The "Build TO Scale" Podcast, Tony O'Brien sits down with Jack Johansen, Director of Sales & Business Development at WindFree USA — a Midwest solar company that's been navigating policy cycles since 2009 — to unpack what's really happening on the ground in 2026.

They cover:

1. Why Illinois punches above its weight in solar despite lower-than-average electricity rates — and what that reveals about the real driver of solar adoption

2. The July 4th deadline every commercial solar buyer needs to know about before it costs them a 30% tax credit

3.Why leasing is staging a major comeback — and which installers are positioned to capitalize on it

1. Battery storage as the new revenue layer — from grid stabilization payments to demand charge management, the economics are changing the entire sales conversation

2. The human cost of the "Big Beautiful Bill" — how federal policy killed a brand-new American solar factory and put skilled tradespeople out of work

This isn't a pro-solar advocacy episode. It's a brutally honest look at how a real company survives when the rules change mid-game — and what that means for anyone in energy, construction, commercial real estate, or B2B sales navigating a market that won't hold still.

If you're building, investing, or selling in the energy space in 2026, this episode is required listening.