This guest post by GRID co-founder Erica Mackie originally appeared on the Enphase Energy blog.
Ten years from now, what will it mean to think about energy? Will we be thinking about providing access to energy to the billions of people who have limited or no access to electricity? Will we be working on reducing the energy burden for people who live in energy inefficient homes and are paying up to a third or more of their take-home pay on energy costs? Will we be dealing intelligently with the energy aspects of climate resiliency for those who live on the front edge of superstorms, heat waves, and drought, and can’t afford to adjust their lives or rebuild their homes?
All of these things must be part of the conversation if we are going to have a successful and inclusive transition to clean energy. We have to take what we’ve learned in the first 10 years of solar’s explosive growth and apply it in a way that has as deep and broad an impact as possible. As has been shown again and again, access to affordable energy improves lives. We have an obligation and an opportunity to address climate change while at the same time enhancing the lives of hundreds of millions of people across the globe. With the right policies, the right investments, and the tools created by visionary companies like Enphase, we will succeed.