Was fortunate to be able to catch up with one of the best connectors in the solar industry – Tony Clifford – in tandem with research for We Took the Risk.
Since my earliest days in DC, Tony and his wife Ellen have been one of the most gracious hosts in the industry, opening up their home to me, and countless others, for dinners and mentorship conversations about the ever-evolving renewables sector.
From his days at Solarex (pre-BP Solar) to being part of the founding team at Standard Solar, Tony helped develop the residential solar model in its earliest of days, taking on industry-level challenges that still echo today.
“There were a lot of enthusiastic people who wanted to get into solar, but to find applicants who were comfortable working on roofs, having some sort of basic construction skills was tough,” Tony said. “We had a lot of education to do” he added, “which was one of the primary challenges of a new industry back then. In those early days, “we all collectively took the risk.”
In addition, for those Hoyas out there, Tony also shared an entertaining background story on the solar installation at Georgetown University’s Bunn Intercultural Center (ICC) on campus. Read all the details soon!
More to come as We Took the Risk gets into manuscript phase for publishing.
