Richard Matsui, Founder & CEO of kWh Analytics, interviewed AEE CEO Nat Kreamer for his latest #Solar100 leaders profile published by PV Magazine here. See excerpts below:

Nat Kreamer served in the Afghan War with special forces in the U.S. Navy, helped found what is now the largest residential solar company in the United States, held the position of board chair at Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), and was recognized by President Obama as a “Champion of Change” for his work as a veteran in clean energy.

Now he’s bringing these experiences to his role as CEO of Advanced Energy Economy (AEE), where he leverages policy advocacy and inter-industry collaboration to advance clean energy. AEE is Kreamer’s Avengers Initiative in the fight against climate change: different strengths combining forces for the sake of a shared future.

In this interview, Kreamer talks about how the war in Afghanistan impacted his work in clean energy, advice for new clean energy entrepreneurs, and the importance of embedding sustainability into ‘want’ products... 

Kreamer: What we need now is a system-wide solutions approach to creating an advanced energy economy. Getting to 100% secure, affordable, and clean energy requires an entire ecosystem of technologies and businesses. It can’t just be about solar; it’s going to be about solar, wind, efficiency, storage, grid technology, and electric vehicles. All those things have to work together, so for that to happen, we have to advance the policy interests for the entire ecosystem, not just one of its parts. Advanced Energy Economy does that...

Kreamer: ...There is work that needs to happen 2-5 years ahead of transforming the market, but most clean energy companies are growing fast and cash-strapped so they can’t invest in that work. We work with and receive funding from both foundations and member companies. We do the foundational work of education upstream so that we can do advocacy with member dollars as it gets closer to the time to actually make the legislative or policy changes...

 Read the entire interview at PV Magazine here.