Episode 625
625: Mike Hall on Borrego Solar’s “People before Strategy” Corporate Culture, and His Leadership Playbook for 2 Decades of Dominance
You’d be hard-pressed to find someone in the solar industry who hasn’t heard of, worked for, competed against, or just stood in awe at the company today’s guest built w/his brother. Borrego Solar is an institution in the solar industry here in the USA alongside such names as REC Solar, SunPower, and SolarCity. The Hall brothers and their 3rd co-founder have unlocked something special that has created one of the most enduring (and prolific) solar companies of our time. And I finally got the opportunity to dig deep with Mike Hall, the 20+ yr CEO of this industry leader, to get the goods on just what makes this company tick and how they’ve had such staying power and dominance through the years.
The clean energy industry is experiencing rapid growth and transformation, yet it faces significant challenges that must be overcome to reach its full potential. Two of the most pressing challenges include connecting renewable energy resources to the electric grid and dealing with inefficiencies in the procurement process for large-scale solar and battery projects. The complexity of interconnecting diverse energy sources, along with the lack of real-time data and analytical tools in procurement, creates barriers that hinder the industry's progress.
Mike Hall, CEO and co-founder of Borrego Solar and Anza (which recently spun out of Borrego), has been at the forefront of tackling these challenges for more than 2 decades. With Borrego Solar, he has been instrumental in pioneering the residential, C&I and even community solar markets, especially in developing and financing projects and unlocking the value in virtual net metering projects in California and the Northeast. These innovative efforts have paved the way for connecting more renewable energy resources to the grid, the careers of thousands of #SolarWarriors, and countless prosperous former-employee-led startups along the way. Through Anza, Mike is addressing the procurement inefficiencies by aggregating real-time data from over 90% of the US market and utilizing advanced algorithms to optimize buyers' choices based on lifetime value rather than just upfront costs.
By focusing on these two distinct challenges - Development & Product Delivery, Mike’s leadership and innovation are helping to shape a more resilient and sustainable clean energy landscape. Through Borrego Solar, the connection of renewable energy resources to the grid has become more accessible, opening up new opportunities for growth in the community solar market. Meanwhile, Anza is transforming the way large-scale solar and battery projects are procured, making the process more efficient, transparent, and financially rewarding for buyers. Together, these efforts are not only solving immediate problems but also laying the groundwork for a more robust clean energy future.
Listen in as Mike finally pulls back the veil on 20 years of solar industry entrepreneurship as leader of one of the most iconic and economically impactful companies of our time. His anecdotes of learning from sports, harnessing failure, and riding out the solarcoaster are both entertaining and instructive.
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