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About the Episode:
Seventeen years ago, two young boys from Washington, DC set a ball in motion that would spark a nationwide solar movement. What inspired them?
Al Gore.
Solar United Neighbors (SUN), a national nonprofit, began as a grassroots effort when two preteens, inspired by An Inconvenient Truth, rallied their neighbors to adopt solar energy. Their initial door-to-door campaign grew into a solar co-op, which has since evolved into SUN, has driven key policy changes across the USA and fosters a network of solar advocates that stretches coast-to-coast. In fact, their neighborhood-focused inkling of an idea has now facilitated over 10,000 residential solar projects, making localized, affordable solar accessible to communities everywhere and catalyzing the largest known community of solar owners we’ve found.
In this episode, Anya Schoolman, Executive Director of Solar United Neighbors, shares how her son, Walter and his friend Diego’s vision for neighborhood-wide solar purchasing planted the seed for a national movement.
Expect to learn:
What is the Solar for All program and how it is expanding solar access to underserved communities.
How Solar United Neighbors expanded into a nationwide movement now representing one million solar homeowners.
Why we can’t decarbonize without distributed solar
Who wins because of the organization’s efforts in consumer protection, ensuring transparency in solar contracts.
Listen in to hear how a local project transformed into a national effort driving clean, working toward affordable solar energy for all!
NOTEWORTHY QUOTEs:
“We’re training people, we’re engaging them, and then we’re engaging them in advocacy, and it’s both in person and digital.”
“Projecting hope is actually the most important thing we could do, because people become complacent and disempowered when they lose hope. I think that’s the special sauce that solar has, that nothing else in the climate area has is that people get it.”
Thanks again to this week's sponsor, helping keep the podcast FREE to you!
Our Platinum Presenting Sponsor for SunCast is Chint Power Systems America!
CPS America is the #1 supplier of 3-phase string inverters for Commercial & Industrial and Utility-Scale projects with more than 8 gigawatts of inverters installed on 20,000+ sites around the nation!
We are grateful for our GOLD sponsor:
Speed up PV installations for lower LCOE with TrinaTracker and improve overall system value with optimized compatibility using Trina Solar’s industry-leading modules and the TrinaPro utility-scale or C&I Solutions. Please visit https://www.mysuncast.com/trina
ABOUT THE HOST OF SUNCAST:
Nico Johnson is the creator and host of SunCast, consistently rated a top solar podcast in the clean energy sector. 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 an Investor, Executive Coach, and 16-year veteran of the solar industry, having led development in the US and Latin America for global companies like Trina Solar and Conergy.
You can connect with Nico Johnson on Twitter, LinkedIn or email.
If you’ve been second-guessing your work decisions or maybe trying to reconsider how you "fit" in the renewable energy industry -> grab 15 minutes on Nico's calendar and discuss whether having him as Your personal coach might be the right next step.