Solar
I’ve long been fascinated with renewable energy. Though I formally focused on the Earth sciences, at Stanford I took every class on solar and renewable energy available. My most formative experiences were courses with the legendary Gil Masters on Energy Efficient Buildings and Renewable and Efficient Electric Power Systems. Following college, I committed myself to renewables and energy efficiency at least in my personal life.
My tangible moves began at the personal level. As a homeowner, I evaluated my home’s leakiness with a Minneapolis blower door test and implemented energy-saving measures. Today, our home solar provides not only electricity but also heating (through radiant floor), cooling, domestic hot water and energy for an electric vehicle.
But I still felt there was a major missing piece of the puzzle. Why does solar have to be on my house? Why do I have to drive my own electric vehicle? Could I leverage the economy of scale and go even bigger? This led to the next phase of my thinking with solar and renewables:
How can I produce as many clean electrons per dollar as possible?
I quickly realized that by scaling up, and by seeking profit, I could go even bigger. This led to my foray into commercial-scale solar, which not only offsets the carbon associated with my lifestyle (over 1 million pounds of CO2 to date), but also completely pays for my housing!
Next up, going even bigger at the utility scale. Can I contribute to the development of major solar farms in the American West?