Veterans: Carrying the Flag Forward To a Clean Energy Future
On Veterans Day one year ago, I had the distinct privilege to honor our nation’s Veterans at the Opening Bell ceremony of the NASDAQ Stock Market. This event hosted by the West Point Thayer Leadership Development Group brought business executives from across the country together with a shared commitment to enhancing Veteran hiring Initiatives in our respective industries.
As the CoFounder of a Veteran owned clean energy venture, CleanCapital, I remain committed to this initiative and was proud to stand tall with the First Lady of the United States and the Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA) in setting an ambitious goal to bring 50,000 Veterans into the solar industry by 2020. Currently, nearly 10% of the 250,000 members of rapidly growing solar industry is comprised of Veterans from across this great country and serve in roles as diverse as technical operations to CEO. These Veterans bring leadership skills and rigorous technical training that helps them to thrive in an industry where business management and technical innovation is highly valued. Programs like Solar Ready Vets are preparing our Veterans with the skills and networks they will need as they transition from the military to a good paying and mission driven career.
Like many other Veterans, my decision to continue my service to the country in the clean energy sector was motivated by my deployment to Iraq where I served in the shadow of seemingly endless oil fires. I personally know the high price that our country pays in blood and resources to secure oil supplies, from protecting desert fuel convoys to keeping international shipping lanes open for oil tankers. When I returned home from combat, I realized that we could continue to serve our country by making the case for clean energy innovations here at home. Thankfully, many other Veterans like Jon Powers came home with a similar commitment to securing our nation’s energy future and combating the impacts of climate change.
Prior to his Presidential Appointment as the Chief Sustainability Officer for the White House, Jon founded Operation Free; a national coalition of thousands of Veterans, national security leaders, and military family members in all fifty states that were leading the fight for clean energy policies at both the federal and state levels. National security leaders from across the country and all sides of the political landscape came together to advocate for our common interest of a more secure and stable energy supply.
While serving in the White House, Jon envisioned a future where everyday Americans could participate in the clean energy revolution. This is why we, along with our CoFounders, created CleanCapital, a technology-driven platform that accelerates clean energy with simpler finance. Traditionally, clean energy finance has been limited to big banks, private equity firms, and tax equity investors. CleanCapital gives more people access to these investments, and project owners an opportunity to exit their existing portfolios. Our investment platform identifies, screens, and manages clean energy projects for its investors, giving our clients unique access to the clean energy investment market. Our team manages the entire process. By eliminating typical transaction barriers and making capital more accessible, we’re accelerating clean energy growth worldwide.
To learn more, please join CleanCapital and Tom Kimbis, Interim President for the Solar Energy Industry Association for a webinar Monday at 1:00pm EST. RSVP today!
