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About the Episode:

Mary Powell, CEO of Sunrun, has cast the vision of the leading solar brand in North America as a clean energy lifestyle company. She recently shared with Nico how Sunrun is accelerating the transition and nearing its millionth customer despite the typical electric utilities' “no and slow” culture.

Under Powell's leadership, Sunrun installed more than 1 GW of solar in 2023, maintaining its position as the nation's leading residential solar provider. Even more impressive, perhaps, is how Sunrun’s “year of energy storage” netted an unprecedented growth rate of battery attachment to solar projects. They’ve also set a few key milestones in key markets like CA and Puerto Rico for grid services of distributed batteries.

As a former utility executive, Nico asserts that Powell is “bilingual”, understanding how to navigate and communicate in both the private sector and Utility environments facilitating the integration of more renewables into the grid. Now, she is proving that distributed energy resources (like rooftop solar) can support grid reliability when networked as virtual power plants (VPPs), and promises we are in the midst of a ‘customer-led revolution’.

Expect to learn:

• Details of the largest virtual power plant (VPP) in the nation.
• Why “customer obsession” is key to consumer confidence.
• The role of virtual power plants in creating a resilient grid.
• How Sunrun achieved a 50% storage attachment rate.

Click play to hear directly from the CEO proving that distributed energy resources can support a stronger, more resilient grid.

Helpful RESOURCES:

Connect with Mary Powell:

• LinkedIn | X

Check out Sunrun:

• Website | LinkedIn | X | Facebook | Instagram

Check out Episode 450: Sunrun CEO, Mary Powell, Leading America's Largest Residential Solar Company

NOTEWORTHY QUOTE:

“This is the year we are going to transform this company into a significant step towards being a clean energy lifestyle company, to ultimately being a company that meets you, the customer, wherever you are on your clean energy journey.”

— Mary Powell

“Climate change isn’t just like this random thing that can’t touch this massive grid, it is incredibly powerful and it means that we need to be working hard to accelerate solutions.”

— Mary Powell

Thanks again to this week's sponsor, helping keep the podcast FREE to you!

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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 20 minutes on Nico's calendar and discuss whether having him as Your personal coach might be the right next step.