October is National Energy Awareness Month. First established in 1991, it’s a month in which the U.S. Department of Energy leads initiatives to highlight the importance of energy to our national prosperity, security, and environmental well-being. Since its inception, the focus of Energy Awareness Month has evolved to include the shift from conventional energy to renewable sources like solar energy.
This emphasis on transitioning to renewables fits hand-in-hand with what Pivot Energy does best: solar energy. For Pivot, Energy Awareness Month has a very specific meaning. It’s a time to advocate for solar energy through thought leadership and celebrate solar's many benefits to people from all walks of life, including low-to-moderate-income households, landowners, and farmers.
Pivot’s senior leaders often share their wealth of knowledge and insights about solar’s many benefits. After all, the core tenet of Energy Awareness Month is to raise awareness about why (solar) energy is important.
One way Pivot’s leaders can share their expertise is by participating in renewable energy conferences. For example, Annie Lappé, Pivot’s VP of Strategy and Impact, offered her insights at RE+, North America’s largest clean energy conference, on how innovative business models can increase solar energy access to low-income communities, even in areas that are underserved by state or community programs for community or rooftop solar. Mat Elmore, Pivot’s Senior Vice President of Strategic Accounts, also spoke about how companies can navigate the evolving renewables procurement landscape using corporate multi-year project development partnerships at Smart Energy Decisions’ Net Zero Forum in September 2024.
Even more recently, Melanie C. Kelly, VP of Marketing and Client Partnerships, spoke on a panel at the Women of Renewable Industries and Sustainable Energy Leadership Forum in Washington, D.C., which delved into overcoming imposter syndrome for high-achievers. At the same event, Jackie Murphy, Pivot’s Chief Legal & ESG Officer, led a breakout session on the changing landscapes of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and environment, social, and governance (ESG) that companies navigate today.
These and many other public appearances position us as thought leaders in the solar industry, raising awareness about how solar projects benefit communities, businesses, and other stakeholders, and how solar energy professionals can achieve success in their industry.
Among the benefits of solar energy that we like to tout is the fact that solar can provide affordable clean energy to households across the country, especially for low-to-moderate-income families.
Most people across the country now understand that solar energy is a win-win-win solution for American families. According to a September 2024 poll by the Solar Energy Industries Association, Global Strategy Group, and North Star, 87 percent of Americans support federal incentives to deploy solar and energy storage because they see solar as clean, safe for the environment, helping create jobs, and saving money for American families.
Community solar, in particular, can provide both economic and environmental benefits of solar energy to families and businesses who can’t or choose not to install panels on their roofs. Community solar is an ideal solution for expanding energy access to subscribers, including low-to-moderate income families and residents who rent homes or apartments.
Thankfully, community solar is becoming more accessible across the country, and Pivot Energy is helping lead this trend. At least 24 states, plus Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., have already enacted legislation that incentivizes shared renewable development, including community solar projects. Thanks to these incentives, Pivot has been able to develop and operate community solar projects in Colorado, Illinois, New York, and Minnesota.
While community solar benefits households and businesses, agrivoltaics help another segment of the population: landowners and farmers. Agrivoltaics incorporates solar arrays into farmland, harmoniously allowing landowners, grazers, and apiaries to benefit from the land where the solar array is located, while also generating additional income.
Pivot Energy has brought agrivoltaics solutions to farmers, landowners, and apiaries in multiple states. In fact, Angie Burke, Pivot’s Director of Operations & Maintenance, was honored as the North American Agrivoltaics 2024 Champion of the Year for leading Pivot’s effort to develop more than 30 sites in 2023 alone.
In June this year, Pivot and engineering, procurement, and construction provider GreenSpark Solar completed a four-project Upstate New York agrivoltaics portfolio, totaling over 22 megawatts. In addition to providing clean solar energy to the Adirondack region, all four sites will be used for sheep grazing through United Agrivoltaics, a nationwide co-op of sheep farmers. These projects benefit landowners and farmers while also keeping labor and economic benefits as local as possible and contributing to New York’s goal of reaching 70 percent renewable energy by 2030 and a zero-emission electric grid by 2040.
In addition to building community solar projects and forming agrivoltaics partnerships, Pivot leaders spread the word about solar by being directly involved in the communities where solar projects are located. This gives us the perfect opportunity to speak face-to-face with the families, businesses, farmers, and landowners that Pivot impacts through our projects.
A recent example of community involvement was Pivot’s sponsorship of the Maple Lane Farm Charitable Foundation Barn Party in Mercer, Pennsylvania in September 2024. Gentry Rouse, Director for New Market Project Development, attended the party and supported one of Pivot’s farmer and landowner clients in their efforts to raise $97,000 this year and $607,000 since 2014 for local non-profit organizations and scholarships for local students.
National Energy Awareness Month highlights the importance of energy for our national prosperity, security, and environmental well-being. For Pivot Energy, it has a much more specific meaning—it’s a time to celebrate the manifold benefits of solar energy for Americans of all walks of life.
Households and businesses for whom installing solar panels on their roofs isn’t the right option can still enjoy affordable clean energy through community solar. Landowners and communities can gain additional income streams from the land on which solar projects are located. For the whole country, solar and other forms of renewable energy boost the economy, create jobs, strengthen national security, improve public health, and improve the environment.
To spread the word about solar energy’s benefits, Pivot Energy is and continues to be proactive in thought leadership and local community involvement. Look for Pivot’s leaders at your next industry conference or local event!
If you’d like to discuss how Pivot can offer tailor-made solutions for your clean energy needs, reach out to us today.