Green Success Stories sits down with Mark Anderson, the Funder and CEO of Icarus RT, Inc. Icarus RT is an eco-friendly, engineering company that provides low-cost power boosting systems for existing and/or new solar PV panel installations.
Who is Mark Anderson?
Mark Anderson is the founder & CEO of Icarus RT, Inc., providing the vision for Icarus and leading the team. Mr. Anderson is a licensed Professional Engineer and has worked in the power industry 40 years and has prior experience as a CEO for engineering companies and has patents issued or pending. Mr. Anderson has led solar projects around the world, and represented US in Haiti for the UN, through the US Trade Development Agency in Morocco, and for private sector projects in India, Israel and South Africa.
What is a fun fact about you?
I teach intense spin (cycle) classes seven times per week and have participated in spin class for 15 years.
Why do you think climate change and sustainability is such an important topic today?
Human development requires energy – more and more energy each year. Sustainability requires clean energy. One major example (there are several major examples) of the need for more energy is transportation. Electric vehicles will eventually provide a sustainable means for clean transportation but will also demand a tremendous amount of new grid and distributed energy. That need must be, and now can be supplied via clean renewable resources.
What do you envision your industry looking like 10 years from now?
I envision solar being primarily hybrid solar PV/Thermal plus Storage plants, at residential, commercial and industrial, and utility scale. The battery industry will explode to over $10 billion, and the battery technology will change dramatically shifting from primarily Li-ion to other options including zinc. Thermal batteries will be common. Natural gas usage will be down dramatically (specifically for heat and hot water) and electric vehicles will be more than 50% of the market.
What can the average person do to make a difference?
Add PV plus storage systems to their homes. Support plugin hybrid or all electric vehicles. Reduce, reuse and recycle.