Dan Conant

About Dan Conant

A clean energy entrepreneur who is on a mission to make sure that his native West Virginia continues to power the nation in the 21st Century, with clean renewable energy. Harnessing expertise in electricity market design and policy, solar financing and community organizing, Solar Holler is pushing the envelope in bringing solar within reach of those who need it most.

Experience

1. Founder & President

   Solar Holler

   Jul 2013 — Present · Shepherdstown, WV, US

   Solar Holler is West Virginia\'s most talented-and largest-solar development and installation shop. We started in 2013, and we built the solar industry from scratch in Appalachia. Along the way, we\'ve done everything first. First virtual power plant in the country (using water heaters!), first solar apprenticeship program in Appalachia, the first residential solar loan program in West Virginia, first legal third party owned system in West Virginia. We even willingly, and gladly, unionized our installation crews in 2020-when less than 4% of the solar industry was unionized. Since our early days building innovative financing for churches and homeless shelters, we\'ve expanded to a team of more than 100 full time staff, helping more than 500 families, organizations, and companies per year go solar. Along the way, we\'ve mobilized more than $150 million in clean energy projects in the heart of coal country, ensured the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, and transformed the future of coal country.

Education

• Allegheny College

  BA, International Studies

  2003 — 2007

• The Johns Hopkins University

  M.S., Environmental Science and Policy

  2010 — 2013