INSPIRED IMPACT™ is an ongoing blog series that gives voice to social entrepreneurs and leaders of purpose-driven organizations who are making an impact in their communities, industries, and around the world.
Rick Hunter is the CEO of Pivot Energy headquartered in Denver, CO. Follow them on Twitter and LinkedIn and learn more at pivotenergy.net.
WHAT DO YOU DO?
Pivot Energy is a Denver-based solar energy company that is focused on helping accelerate the rapid transition taking place in the energy industry to a more decentralized and cleaner approach to power generation. Pivot offers a distributed energy platform that includes a range of services and software aimed at serving the full commercial solar ecosystem, including retail customers, project developers, system operators, utilities, and financiers. The company develops, finances, builds, and manages community and commercial solar projects around the country. Pivot operates on a triple bottom line basis, measuring success by the positive impact to people, planet, and profit.
WHY DO YOU DO IT?
Pivot Energy was founded in 2009 to fight against the existential threat of global warming by expanding access to clean, solar energy and helping the country transition to a more sustainable, decentralized electric grid.
WHAT IMPACT ARE YOU MAKING?
Since we started in 2009, our team has developed or financed more than 400 projects across 20 states for a wide variety of communities and some of the most-high profile commercial solar customers in the industry. Through our community solar gardens and rooftop PV systems, we are actively working towards making distributed generation a major part of the solution in the battle against global warming.
WHAT (OR WHO) INSPIRES YOU TO MAKE THIS IMPACT?
We believe the business community is uniquely positioned to make a profound impact on a variety of social and environmental challenges, which is why we have dedicated ourselves to operate on a triple bottom line basis while helping others learn how they can adopt this revolutionary approach to business.
WHAT’S YOUR BIG DREAM FOR THE ORGANIZATION AND THE IMPACT YOU WANT TO MAKE?
Pivot will be a leader in the battle against global warming, doing our part to make distributed generation a major part of the solution.
WHAT RESOURCES DO YOU NEED TO MAKE THOSE DREAMS COME TRUE?
Favorable legislation toward renewable energy, decreasing the red tape involved in developing projects and connecting them to the electricity grid. Also, increased awareness and continued education of the market about distributed generation and how solar energy can save money and create new jobs while contributing towards a cleaner, healthier future.
WHAT IS (OR HAS BEEN) YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE?
The ’solar coaster,’ as we call it, can be a wild ride, and having to be reactive to unexpected changes in solar policy can make setting a long-term vision difficult. Equally as challenging is figuring out which markets are the best to expand into, in terms of both opportunity and long-term investment. It’s not just which states have a good solar policy, but how to best leverage our team (and their available bandwidth) to set the foundation for success.
WHAT WORDS OF ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR OTHER LEADERS LOOKING TO MAKE AN IMPACT?
Go for it! There are ample opportunities to create impact, so pick an area you are interested in and dive in head first. You’ll hit roadblocks and be forced to change direction at times, but remember to keep the bigger goal in mind and keep moving forward.
HOW CAN OTHERS SUPPORT YOU OR YOUR CAUSE?
Evaluate your business’ energy generation and contact us if you want to make a change!
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