In Episode 5 of the Sun Collectors / Solar Power Hour Podcast, founder William Grant and co-host Austin Bare kick off 2025 with a candid look at where the solar industry stands after a massive year-end push before Illinois’ net metering changes. They rewind through a strong Q4, talk about companies that didn’t survive 2024, and explain why the outfits still thriving are the ones focused on best practices, service, and long-term relationships—including keeping extra materials on hand and actively picking up abandoned customers left behind by failed installers.

They also share takeaways from Door to Door Con, discuss the rise of a new industry association and accreditation/blacklist system designed to weed out bad actors, and explain why consulting for solar is getting harder—in a good way. Austin and William dive into their local Peoria root ...