Green Giants: Titans of Renewable Energy Podcast
Welcome to Green Giants: Titans of Renewable Energy, a podcast dedicated to unveiling the stories, insights, and strategies of the most influential leaders in the renewable energy sector. Our mission is to offer a platform where the voices of innovators, pioneers, and visionaries in renewable energy are amplified, sharing their journey, challenges, and triumphs with a global audience.
Green Giants: Titans of Renewable Energy Podcast
Building Solar Responsibly: Inside PCL’s People-First Growth with Andrew Moles
What does responsible growth really look like in one of the world’s most competitive industries?
In this episode of Green Giants: Titans of Renewable Energy, host Wes Ashworth sits down with Andrew Moles, Vice President and General Manager of PCL Solar, the powerhouse EPC that’s helped deliver over 12 gigawatts of solar capacity across North America and Australia.
Andrew shares a refreshingly candid look at how PCL Solar has managed to scale across three continents without sacrificing the one thing that matters most, its people.
You’ll hear how Andrew and his team built a data-driven, culture-led solar business that resists the temptation to chase growth at any cost. From turning down 80% of incoming bids to protect project quality, to creating a culture where mistakes become the most valuable learning opportunities, this conversation is packed with lessons for leaders navigating fast growth and high stakes.
In this episode, Wes and Andrew explore:
- Why PCL Solar declined the majority of projects one year and how that decision protected its long-term success
- The balance between ambition and burnout: what it means to “stretch people without breaking them”
- How PCL Solar turned its culture into a competitive advantage across 260+ staff in multiple countries
- What Australia’s Renewable Energy Zones (REZs) could teach the rest of the world about grid planning
- Emerging trends like grid-forming inverters and DC-coupled storage systems that could redefine the next decade of utility-scale solar
- Why Andrew believes the best leaders are “masters of change management”
At its core, this episode is about leadership, the kind that blends growth with discipline, innovation with humility, and data with deep respect for people.
If you’re leading teams, building projects, or scaling renewable energy operations, you’ll walk away with real-world lessons from one of the most thoughtful operators in the business.
Links:
Wes Ashworth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/weslgs/
- Email: wes@leegroupsearch.com
- https://leegroupsearch.com/green-giants-podcast/
- https://leegroupsearch.com/
