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!

If you want to connect with today's guest, you’ll find links to his contact info in the show notes on the blog at https://mysuncast.com/suncast-episodes/.

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SunCast is proudly supported by Trina Solar.

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Remember, you can always find resources, learn more about today’s guest and explore recommendations, book links, and more than 730 other founder stories and startup advice at www.mysuncast.com.

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Mentioned in this episode:

CPS July 2024 V2

747: Building Solar Communities One Neighborhood At A Time, w/Anya Schoolman of Solar United Neighbors

SunCast