SolarKal’s mission is to accelerate the expansion of solar energy as the main source of power generation globally by converting their commercial clients from energy users to power generators, all while helping their clients save money for their business. 

Going solar is a complex process. It involves getting the right financing, picking the right equipment, the right installer, and configuring the right layout. Most businesses do not have the time or the expertise to make all of these decisions. SolarKal is a solar broker that guides businesses’ and large institutions through the process of going solar by recommending financing options, conducting a preliminary financial analysis and connecting businesses with quality solar installers and developers.

• I mainly helped SolarKal with three things:
• Developing a marketing and branding strategy
• Financial analysis and client presentations 
• Business development and customer acquisition

The biggest impact I had with SolarKal was helping the firm develop a comprehensive marketing and branding strategy. SolarKal’s initial growth was initially derived from a combination of the founder’s contacts, cold calling, and referrals. However, during my tenure, SolarKal was awarded several hundred thousand dollars from the Cuomo administration and had a significant amount of resources to develop a broader marketing strategy. I drew on my experience from creating award winning marketing campaigns for my nonprofit that consisted of digital marketing and television advertising to develop a series of memos that outlined potential internal marketing staff needs, recommended content for social media channels, recommended strategy for SEO optimization, and my view on how SolarKal should brand itself in the market. 

In addition to marketing and branding, I also helped SolarKal conduct financial analysis and develop client presentations -- most notably for their client, Cornell University. I utilized SolarKal’s proprietary solar financial model, which broke down how much money a client could save over a period of time from installing solar from a combination of factoring in energy savings, tax incentives, and rebates. I would take the results from the model and input them into a custom presentation for the client that described the financial and environmental impact of Cornell’s proposed solar installation. Here I drew on my experience at the Obama White House where I developed similar presentations for trade associations and business groups on the administration’s trade policy. 

Finally, I also helped SolarKal‘s business development by meticulously compiling a list of contacts at universities in New York and Massachusetts such as sustainability managers, chief financial officers, and plant and equipment managers that are involved in whether a university would adopt solar power. On this task I utilized my skills from working political campaigns where effective list building and voter outreach are critical skills for winning campaigns. 

The biggest challenge I faced while doing all this work was familiarizing myself with solar lingo and financing structures. I had read about solar independently for a while, but communicating that knowledge practically through presentations and in the office was a different story. My limitations about solar financing and specific incentive structures created a learning curve and inhibited my ability to get into the details of the firm’s business at the beginning.

Also, I have never been a junior member of a startup or small organization before so that was also a difficult transition. The previous startups I have been involved in were either started by myself or my family and thus naturally was given a leadership role. I enjoyed working with the SolarKal team, but navigating a small business or organization is very different when you are not leading it. This was not necessarily a negative thing, but it was definitely different.

I learned a handful of things from the internship. First, the solar industry is still very nascent. The quotes and quality difference between installers varies greatly. Moreover, there are no clear solar equipment brands. This makes navigating the solar market challenging for businesses and homeowners. 

Second, tax incentives and government policy (specifically state government policy) are critical factors for solar adoption. The solar industry (and really all energy policy) is deeply intertwined with state energy policy. There is no national energy policy and accordingly the adoption rates for solar really comes down to whether states have incentive structures that are friendly to solar power. 

The most important thing I learned from the internship is that societally we are quite far from a clean energy future. Moreover, while the growth of the solar industry is strong, the growth is not fast enough to mitigate the worst consequences of climate change. Solar is not a normal industry. Climate change has created a global security imperative that we transition to solar power in short order. Unfortunately, the current levels of investment towards building a clean energy future from business and governments falls far too short. 

On the business side, venture capital has generally stayed away from solar because it is not easily scalable. A solar installation for each home and each business is unique and each state has different regulations and incentives for solar energy. On the government side, sensible clean energy policy is mired with the divisive politics of climate change and 

Startups like SolarKal will be critically important in leading the charge towards a clean energy future, however, that charge will need a significant boost from government policy in order to adopt solar at the scale and pace we need to avert the most catastrophic effects of climate change.