What is your occupation? Where do you work? 

I am the CEO of Reliant Solar.

Tell us a little bit about you and your background: 

I spent 15 years in video production. I began as a high end wedding video guy and branched out to commercial and non-profit projects. From there I slowly grew my skillset to become a small time commercial director, taking on projects for commercials, music videos, non-profit story-telling, and web content.

I began in solar as a way to retool myself in 2017, knocking doors in the dead of winter in Portland, Oregon. I rose to the top and became one of the best and strongest in sales for my company. I worked for a total of 4 solar companies before starting Reliant just over a year ago to solve some problems I observed in the marketplace.

What is a fun fact about you?

I love to fish and surf and generally be near the water. I have 3 sons and have been married for 21 years.

Why do you think climate change/sustainability is such an important topic today? 

Humanity has a responsibility to manage the finite natural resources of our planet. Currently, we can do better. While the USA is on the smaller side with regard to population relative to land use, we are ranked just under China for greenhouse gas emissions.

We are nearly double India, which has a population almost 4 times the size of ours with FAR more use of toxic diesel fuels. For some, this outlook can feel hopeless because a lot has to do with our manufacturing and GDP – but it also has to do with our energy mix. If each person committed to just a single action (switching to LEDs, taking recycling seriously, going green with solar, etc.) it would make a big difference.

What do you envision your industry looking like 10 years from now?

Solar will penetrate much deeper and 20-30% of homes will have solar in 10 years.

What can the average person do to make a difference? 

Recycling is huge. There is a mass of plastic in the Pacific Ocean that is larger than the state of Texas.

What positive changes are you seeing?

There is actually plenty of renewable energy being created today but not all of it is being used (ie: Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River). The move toward using renewable energy is wonderful and the more we can implement this the better. But strategy is important because we still need the grid to transport the power. This means utilities are still useful and important.

Going Green wants to thank Mark for sharing his vision for the move to renewable energy.

Going Green, hosted by Dylan Welch, interviews leading experts in cleantech, sustainability, media, finance, and real estate on the Going Green podcast. Tune in and subscribe to the podcast on Apple or Spotify to listen to interviews with leading cleantech and sustainable experts. If you are interested in being featured on Going Green, click HERE.