Your potential is our passion.
Creating a Clean Energy Future
SARAH BRINKER ’04 RECONNECTS WITH FORMER SCIENCE TEACHER LANDON NEUDSTADT
As the world pulls back the veil on the importance of clean energy, our future increasingly depends on bold leaders willing to make sustainability their life’s work. SARAH BRINKER ’04 is one of those leaders. She is paving the way to a brighter and more sustainable future for all of us—and has been for years! As a former fundraiser for Sierra Club’s famous Beyond Coal Campaign, she witnessed the potentially vital role clean energy can play in replacing coal power plants and other dirty energy forms. “If we focus on clean energy deployment and innovation, we have a shot at arresting climate change,” she says. Now she has turned her attention to a new project, RE-volv, a startup that is changing the very face of the clean energy revolution.
WHAT SPARKED YOUR PASSION FOR SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS?
Environmental awareness is ingrained in me because I was fortunate to grow up in powerfully beautiful places. I moved from bucolic Pennsylvania to Santa Barbara paradise. Starting at the age of three, I spent two weeks every summer at Berkeley Tuolumne Family Camp—outside of Yosemite—where we hiked, learned about nature, and swam in the frigid Tuolumne River. I wrote my first activist letter when I was about seven, demanding the National Park Service not dam the Tuolumne River (they did not, woo hoo!). In Middle School at Laguna, I was fortunate to take your (Mr. Neudstadt’s) science class. We actually got to go outside and play in the dirt up on the hillside behind the ceramics studio. Being outside makes me feel truly alive, like most people, so I was a huge fan of your class. In my senior year, I took your (Mr. Neustadt’s) AP Environmental Science class which helped me to realize my passion for the environment could become my career. I even minored in Environmental Policy Analysis and Planning at UC Davis, graduating in 2008.
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As the world pulls back the veil on the importance of clean energy, our future increasingly depends on bold leaders willing to make sustainability their life’s work. SARAH BRINKER ’04 is one of those leaders. She is paving the way to a brighter and more sustainable future for all of us—and has been for years! As a former fundraiser for Sierra Club’s famous Beyond Coal Campaign, she witnessed the potentially vital role clean energy can play in replacing coal power plants and other dirty energy forms. “If we focus on clean energy deployment and innovation, we have a shot at arresting climate change,” she says. Now she has turned her attention to a new project, RE-volv, a startup that is changing the very face of the clean energy revolution.
This spring while home from the Bay Area, Sarah visited her alma mater and caught up with former science instructor Landon Neustadt. Below is a glimpse into their conversation.
SO WHAT EXACTLY IS RE-VOLV AND THE SOLAR SEED FUND (REVOLVING FUND)?
RE-volv empowers people to put solar on the places they care about, giving you a way to take direct action on climate change. We’re building a global community of clean energy supporters, creating a cultural shift for solar, and tangibly acting on climate change by reducing carbon emissions. Specifically, RE-volv finances solar energy systems for community-serving nonprofits and co-ops, using a revolving fund raised through crowdfunded donations. By going solar, these pillars in the community save money on electric costs, reduce their carbon footprints, and educate their patrons about the benefits of solar energy. Nonprofits and co-ops lack access to traditional solar finance, and we want to see solar energy being used in every community in the country. That’s why we started this pay-it-forward model for solar energy.
RE-volv empowers people to put solar on the places they care about, giving you a way to take direct action on climate change. We’re building a global community of clean energy supporters, creating a cultural shift for solar, and tangibly acting on climate change by reducing carbon emissions. Specifically, RE-volv finances solar energy systems for community-serving nonprofits and co-ops, using a revolving fund raised through crowdfunded donations. By going solar, these pillars in the community save money on electric costs, reduce their carbon footprints, and educate their patrons about the benefits of solar energy. Nonprofits and co-ops lack access to traditional solar finance, and we want to see solar energy being used in every community in the country. That’s why we started this pay-it-forward model for solar energy.
WHAT SPARKED YOUR PASSION FOR SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS?
Environmental awareness is ingrained in me because I was fortunate to grow up in powerfully beautiful places. I moved from bucolic Pennsylvania to Santa Barbara paradise. Starting at the age of three, I spent two weeks every summer at Berkeley Tuolumne Family Camp—outside of Yosemite—where we hiked, learned about nature, and swam in the frigid Tuolumne River. I wrote my first activist letter when I was about seven, demanding the National Park Service not dam the Tuolumne River (they did not, woo hoo!). In Middle School at Laguna, I was fortunate to take your (Mr. Neudstadt’s) science class. We actually got to go outside and play in the dirt up on the hillside behind the ceramics studio. Being outside makes me feel truly alive, like most people, so I was a huge fan of your class. In my senior year, I took your (Mr. Neustadt’s) AP Environmental Science class which helped me to realize my passion for the environment could become my career. I even minored in Environmental Policy Analysis and Planning at UC Davis, graduating in 2008.
WHAT DO YOU KNOW NOW, THAT YOU WISH YOU KNEW DURING YOUR TIME AT LAGUNA?
It’s okay to fail. In fact, the mantra in the Bay Area is fail fast, get up faster. Our response to failure is the true test of character.
Continued from Laguna Blanca Magazine, Spring 2016
WHY IS RENEWABLE ENERGY SO IMPORTANT?
We can conserve all the habitat and open space we want, but if we do not reduce our carbon emissions by using significantly less fossil fuels and significantly more clean energy, climate change will alter those protected landscapes. Renewable energy not only avoids carbon emissions, but it saves most commercial and residential users money and provides local jobs -- more than 175,000 Americans are employed by the solar industry, with a portion of those being veterans, according to the SEIA. Clean energy also challenges the status quo of the utility model, which typically puts shareholders first. With distributed solar energy, energy becomes democratic again.
TELL US ABOUT THE SCALE OF SOLAR ENERGY YOUR COMPANY IS INVOLVED IN.
RE-volv works in the small-scale commercial solar market by helping the 1.5 million nonprofit institutions go solar. Among them are places of worship and shelters, and 30,000 worker-owned cooperatives across the United States. These organizations have a hard time finding solar financing from traditional financiers mainly because they lack a tax appetite. We finance systems in the 5 kilowatt to 50 kilowatt range (small cottage to the LBS gym). We’ve financed solar energy systems for three Bay Area organizations. We’re currently crowdfunding for the Isla Vista Food Co-op, Riverwest Co-op Grocery & Cafe in Milwaukee, and Serenity House in North Philadelphia.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO HAVE A DECENTRALIZED SOLAR SYSTEMS/DISTRIBUTED GENERATION?
The main benefit of decentralized solar systems is that less energy is lost because it doesn’t have to travel anywhere. It’s used where it’s generated. Furthermore, people have choice in the type of energy they use and cost. DG is also less vulnerable to natural disasters than major power facilities like coal plants and nuclear plants. Hurricane Sandy, for example, left millions without power. Once storage technology catches up, the clean energy ecosystem will be even stronger.
HOW DID YOUR WORK WITH THE ISLA VISTA FOOD COOPERATIVE COME ABOUT?
Working with a community pillar in my hometown of Santa Barbara is special. UCSB college students are spearheading this project through RE-volv’s Solar Ambassador college fellowship program, so we wanted to work with an organization near campus. My mom, Ann Brinker, has shopped at the co-op for years, giving me the idea to reach out to them. We’re grateful that the co-op and especially co-op manager, were keen to go solar. We hope to have a ribbon cutting in early summer, and would love for the LBS community to attend.
IF YOU COULD GIVE ONE PIECE OF ADVICE TO OUR CURRENT STUDENTS, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
If you can, pursue your passion as a career, because then work doesn’t feel like work. By doing something five days a week that aligns with my personal values and makes me feel like I’m bettering society, I’m a pretty happy person.
It’s okay to fail. In fact, the mantra in the Bay Area is fail fast, get up faster. Our response to failure is the true test of character.
Continued from Laguna Blanca Magazine, Spring 2016
WHY IS RENEWABLE ENERGY SO IMPORTANT?
We can conserve all the habitat and open space we want, but if we do not reduce our carbon emissions by using significantly less fossil fuels and significantly more clean energy, climate change will alter those protected landscapes. Renewable energy not only avoids carbon emissions, but it saves most commercial and residential users money and provides local jobs -- more than 175,000 Americans are employed by the solar industry, with a portion of those being veterans, according to the SEIA. Clean energy also challenges the status quo of the utility model, which typically puts shareholders first. With distributed solar energy, energy becomes democratic again.
TELL US ABOUT THE SCALE OF SOLAR ENERGY YOUR COMPANY IS INVOLVED IN.
RE-volv works in the small-scale commercial solar market by helping the 1.5 million nonprofit institutions go solar. Among them are places of worship and shelters, and 30,000 worker-owned cooperatives across the United States. These organizations have a hard time finding solar financing from traditional financiers mainly because they lack a tax appetite. We finance systems in the 5 kilowatt to 50 kilowatt range (small cottage to the LBS gym). We’ve financed solar energy systems for three Bay Area organizations. We’re currently crowdfunding for the Isla Vista Food Co-op, Riverwest Co-op Grocery & Cafe in Milwaukee, and Serenity House in North Philadelphia.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO HAVE A DECENTRALIZED SOLAR SYSTEMS/DISTRIBUTED GENERATION?
The main benefit of decentralized solar systems is that less energy is lost because it doesn’t have to travel anywhere. It’s used where it’s generated. Furthermore, people have choice in the type of energy they use and cost. DG is also less vulnerable to natural disasters than major power facilities like coal plants and nuclear plants. Hurricane Sandy, for example, left millions without power. Once storage technology catches up, the clean energy ecosystem will be even stronger.
HOW DID YOUR WORK WITH THE ISLA VISTA FOOD COOPERATIVE COME ABOUT?
Working with a community pillar in my hometown of Santa Barbara is special. UCSB college students are spearheading this project through RE-volv’s Solar Ambassador college fellowship program, so we wanted to work with an organization near campus. My mom, Ann Brinker, has shopped at the co-op for years, giving me the idea to reach out to them. We’re grateful that the co-op and especially co-op manager, were keen to go solar. We hope to have a ribbon cutting in early summer, and would love for the LBS community to attend.
IF YOU COULD GIVE ONE PIECE OF ADVICE TO OUR CURRENT STUDENTS, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
If you can, pursue your passion as a career, because then work doesn’t feel like work. By doing something five days a week that aligns with my personal values and makes me feel like I’m bettering society, I’m a pretty happy person.
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Laguna Blanca is Santa Barbara’s premier private, co-educational, college preparatory day school for students in Early Kindergarten through Grade 12.