Mary Powell

While many major residential solar companies have floundered recently, SunRun is not among them. Under CEO Mary Powell’s leadership, the company has become the largest developer of residential solar in the U.S., responsible for a fifth of all home systems installed. And this August, it became the first solar-plus-storage company to surpass one million customers. The secret to its success lies in part in its expansion beyond solar power into energy-­storage systems, with solar and battery storage making up more than half of its sales as of August, up 12% from the year prior. This year, SunRun also launched partnerships with Ford and Tesla to turn the F-150 Lightning trucks and Tesla battery wall systems essentially into power plants, allowing homes and the grid to tap into stored energy.

What is the single most important action you think the public, or a specific company or government (other than your own), needs to take in the next year to advance the climate agenda?

The grid is not ready for the future we’re sprinting toward. As electric vehicles, home electrification, artificial intelligence, and data centers grow at breakneck speed, the single most critical action over the next year is for governments, utilities, and aggregators to accelerate radical collaboration that allows for the adoption of customer-centered solutions and technologies that can then be leveraged to help all Americans. 

We must figure out how to work together to leverage distributed solar and batteries to relieve stress from aging grid infrastructure. A massive network of smart controllable load is being built that utilities can use instead of building costly and unreliable centralized power plants and transmission poles and wires that ratepayers ultimately have to pay for. 

We can’t afford to wait, every delay costs more than just time; it jeopardizes the entire fight against climate change. The message is clear: we must move now, together, and at the speed this moment demands.

Where should climate activism go in the next year?

Activism must push for policies that prioritize low-income and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities. This includes advocating for equitable access to clean energy, affordable home electrification, and investments in resilient infrastructure. Climate solutions should not only reduce emissions but also address social inequalities, ensuring everyone benefits from the transition to a sustainable future.

What's the most important climate legislation that could pass in the next year?

The most important climate legislation that could pass in the next year is a national policy for streamlined permitting and interconnection standards for solar installations. Current interconnection standards lead to unnecessary costs, delays, and even project cancellations. In just 14 years, the residential solar industry has grown from 89,000 to over 4.7 million installations, but an outdated grid and permitting process has stymied the integration of clean energy. 

There are at least 18,000 jurisdictions across the United States that have their own rules for how solar and storage are permitted. This creates unique challenges, and extends the time it takes for solar projects to be approved by their city or county government. A process that should be quick and easy often takes weeks or months. 

The Department of Energy recognizes these challenges and recently issued a roadmap aimed at improving this interconnection issue. This type of legislation would focus on adopting smarter inverter standards, improving data sharing and reducing the costs associated with solar, such as lengthy permitting processes, regulatory roadblocks, and complex grid interconnection requirements. These advancements would significantly reduce project delays and associated costs.