Lynn Jurich, co-founder of SunRun, wants to make the world a better place for the future. Working in the solar industry is not only a career decision, but a personal one as well. We asked her some questions about how she got involved in the clean tech industry and why solar energy is her passion.
1. What sparked your interest in solar energy?
For years I’d believed that the most important social and economic achievements in our lifetime would be in the energy sector. So getting into the industry has always been in the back of my mind. In fact, when I was in venture capital about 4 or 5 years ago one of my colleagues and I spent some time talking about setting up an investment fund to invest around the fact that the cost of fossil fuels would rise much faster than was being priced into the market.
To get up to speed on the industry I read a book called From Edison to Enron. The most profound thing I took from the book was a quote from Thomas Edison: “I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don’t have to wait ’til oil and coal run out before we tackle that.” It can’t be any simpler than that.
2. What is your background involvement with the environment? (i.e. did you study environmental issues in school, participate in any organizations?) In short, was there a turning point?
The summer between business school years at Stanford I did some consulting work in both Los Angeles and China. After getting sick from swimming in the ocean in LA (three times!) and experiencing what is considered a “blue” sky in China (in reality, light grey with the sun barely peeking through the thick pollution), I felt I needed to get personally involved. Six months later my two business partners and I started SunRun.
3. Do you see women making a unique impact in the green movement? How?
People always focus on transportation as the major source of pollution and global warming but it is actually the built environment that is the real killer. Carbon dioxide emissions from electricity generation are actually greater than from transportation in the U.S. And the built environment, especially the home, is the domain of women.
Unfortunately, rooftop solar systems for the home have always been marketed by men to men in the past. This is because people had to purchase an entire solar power plant for their home. It was a huge technology sale; it was all about the equipment and what kind of output the system would produce. Well, most women don’t care to own and maintain a power plant on the roof of their home and aren’t confident they are buying the right equipment.
SunRun is turning that idea on its head. We say, “let us buy the solar equipment for you and take care of it, and we will just sell you the solar electricity for a rate that is significantly lower than what you buy it for from your utility company.” We allow our customers to enjoy clean solar power without any of the hassles and with a lower monthly utility bill.
4. What are some achievements you’re proud of?
Turning down a high paying job at a successful venture capital firm to take a risk with SunRun makes me most proud. My partners and I worked for months with no salary and with people telling us we couldn’t make the business work. Now after little over a year of marketing, we have hundreds of customers throughout California, have raised $12 million in cash to run our business, we have a $105 million commitment from US Bancorp to purchase solar systems for new customers, and most importantly, we’ve allowed many people to get solar energy that could not afford it in the past. We’ll be expanding into other states soon.
5. What are some of the hobbies and activities you enjoy outside of work and how long have you been involved in them?
I am a very active person and have always played a ton of sports. In high school I was captain of the basketball and volleyball team, but I must be honest that I haven’t completely worked regular exercise into my daily schedule. However, every Friday I do rush to get out of the office for a 5:30pm candlelight flow yoga session. It is nice to eliminate some of the week’s stress to get prepared for the weekend and to focus on other aspects of life. I have to say I am still working on letting everything go, but my husband does appreciate that yoga takes the edge off a bit.
6. Do you have a “green” role model?
Anyone who makes one simple change is a role model to me. In particular, I am inspired by the stories of many of our customers and their commitment to using the sun to power their homes.
7. What do you think is our biggest environmental challenge today?
Many people make one “green” change and then they get eco-anxiety. They worry that they aren’t doing enough and that they are going to be exposed as some sort of polluting slob in other aspects of their lives. We have to avoid this guilt. People should feel good and be rewarded by even the most simple changes.
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