A Letter From Our CEO on the Paris Climate Accord
It took almost 15 minutes of my very first undergraduate class to know and understand that Climate Change is real. At that moment, I engaged in a career to help build a clean energy future – a task that has kept me busy for the last 20 years and beyond. The political decision to end US involvement in the Paris Climate Agreement is an assault that strikes upon an industry that has already survived a few. This latest setback may have been lethal had it struck in 1997, when I joined a nascent clean energy industry of few dozen idealistic people trying to scratch and claw their ways in the general direction of the mainstream. And maybe it would have been more hurtful in 2007 when the just emerging wind and solar industries fought against blatant political and fossil fuel industry opposition to claim a mere opportunity to succeed. But this is 2017, and the clean energy revolution in this country employs nearly 400,000 Americans – more people than the coal or gas industries – and represents many billions of dollars of business.
The clean energy industry stands proud today, facing a trillion dollar energy opportunity as a market-based solution to deeply de-carbonize our electricity and transportation sectors. In most parts of our country, renewable energy is cheaper than electricity you could purchase from a utility company. Hell yes we will take that opportunity and we aren’t going to let the latest political obstacles slow our progress.
Coal and oil powered the 20th century and clean energy technologies will power our economy for generations to come. We must work and fight every day to urge that transition onward with unrelenting vigor and joyfulness. This latest failure of our politicians to represent the best interests of our planet and its people puts the solution again, squarely in our hands. GreenSpark provides clean, locally generated electricity to people cheaper than any utility or ESCO. GreenSpark provides quality jobs and local economic development that builds vibrant communities. Our customers turn the money they spend to purchase electricity into smart financial investments to improve the environment and their communities. The Genie is out of the bottle people and it’s not going back in.
The economy of Rochester is reemerging as entrepreneurs open new businesses and drive innovation – we are all crafting a new identity for our City. You can see the growth throughout our region – new wineries and breweries, new restaurants, people fighting over how to rebuild downtown, new businesses and technologies. Rochester is a City that was founded on locally produced, clean energy as a booming metropolis grew around the waterfalls that supplied the energy needed to drive growth. Locally produced clean energy now holds that same promise – to support the growth of a new, clean and innovative local economy. Homeowners, businesses, and our world-class universities are all realizing that their growth opportunities can be fueled by cost-effective, locally generated solar power. The withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement puts the power into our hands – the power to save money and do our part to reduce the impacts of climate change, to employ and support our neighbors, to invest in our communities. Faced with the choice I am confident that we will choose to be on the right side of history.
GreenSpark believes that everyone has the right to a healthy environment and brighter future – and renewable energy is where it starts. Energy from the sun can power our lives and build vibrant communities. Our mission is to tear down barriers to clean energy and use our business as a force for good.
We will not relent in our mission to bring about the clean energy revolution and leave our planet better for our children and grandchildren.
Kevin Schulte
CEO, GreenSpark
