It's not every day that I get to sit down with a dignitary. And today's guest is not your typical dignitary. No, despite 10 yrs as one of the most important public figures in Panama, and a credible run at that country's top position, Mr. Juan Carlos Navarro is one of the most down-to-earth people I've had the privilege of meeting. From humble roots, Juan Carlos has embodied the epitome of being a servant to his country and his people. As a young conservationist, he returned to his homeland of Panama and literally wrote the book on Panama's public parks and protected areas. And now, after an incredible decade in the public eye, he has set his environmentalist hand to the plow once again as a very vocal fanatic of the solar revolution. His company, N-Solar, has led the way in Panama and Central America in ushering this inevitable shift toward distributed renewable power, and today we get to hear from him all about how and why he has decided to dedicate the next half of his career to Clean Energy.
Well Today on SunCast, you'll meet Juan Carlos Navarro, founder and CEO of N-Solar in Panama. If you've never had the pleasure of meeting Juan Carlos, he's not only a luminary in Panamanian society (he was mayor of Panama City for a Decade!), but is also an entirely passionate fanatic of solar power and climate conservation. We go into his background in non-profit management and his 10+ yrs as a public dignitary, and I'm sure you'll find some interesting takeaways on the how and why he decided to start a solar company.
Among the many topics today, we cover:
The value of technological innovation as a differentiator in the sales & marketing of a solar firm
The three areas Juan Carlos has learned the most in founding a solar company
Common challenges facing all latam solar startups
The logic behind building a 2.4MW utility project with microinverters
Juan Carlos's extensive reading list,
And much, much more
We hope you get a ton of value from today’s episode, but if you’re interested in learning more about Juan Carlos and his team, I encourage you to visit their website or their Facebook Page.
And as always, you can check the blog page for resources from today's show.
If you like what you hear, please SHARE it!
And be sure to check out all the rest of the episodes in this Latam Founder series!
Juan Carlos' bold prediction:
"Every country should be investing in Storage and Smart Grids; the minute we have cost-effective reliable storage, solar + storage will become the dominant power generation combination."
Resources & Books mentioned:
The Art of Worldly Wisdom: A Pocket Oracle - Baltasar Gracian
A little history of the world - E.H. Gombrich
Catedral del Mar - Ildefonso Falcones
Redentores - Enrique Krauze
Biography of Pepe Mujica (will update with exact one…)
La Vicashe de Fidel (Biography of Fidel Castro (in French)) - (couldn't find…)
Publications and Events JCN references or attends:
GTM
BNEF
Solar Power Int'l
SEPA (member)
SEIA (member)
Panamanian Chamber on Renewable Energy (member)
Nico Johnson is the creator and host of SunCast, a regular conversation with Solar Industry professionals who are leading in emerging solar markets. The content of the show is geared towards listeners looking for insights on where the markets are headed, how to position themselves or their companies, and what today's market leaders do to stay ahead of the pack.
Nico is a 10-year veteran of the solar industry, having led development in the US and Latin America for global companies like Trina Solar and Conergy. He served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala and is considered one of the market's leading experts on solar PV expansion in the region.
Nico can be reached on Linked In https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickalus
or by email nico@mysuncast.com