Until his senior year of college, Jack Johannesson never thought about the important role that energy plays in our world on a daily basis. However, after taking an Energy Finance course, his trajectory changed.
Although the class focused on valuations of oil projects, Jack wasn’t interested in working for an oil company. He saw, instead, an opportunity to apply that knowledge to the clean energy industry. After applying to a handful of solar companies, he eventually found his way to renewable energy when he joined Windfree Solar in 2019, where he has been ever since.
“I think that there is a massive amount of interest, opportunity, and potential in the industry, with a scarcity of people currently working in it,” Jack said. “It’s a non-saturated industry that is on the rise, and one that helps make the world a better, more sustainable place.”
Jack encourages more people to look into working in the clean energy industry and advises them to embrace every step of their career journey. Although he was originally hired as an assistant to a project manager, he later transitioned into sales after gaining expertise in the field. The background he received in administrative and project management work helped him gain a well-rounded perspective of projects and allowed him to explore the flexibility of the many opportunities that the solar industry had to offer.
In addition to supporting the growth of the clean energy workforce, Jack also hopes to see more people transition to solar and renewable energy.
“Especially in Illinois, because incentives have never been better, equipment prices have never been lower, and the workforce has become incredibly well trained, there are so many ways to combat the financial hurdle of going solar,” Jack said. “If you have a desire to do it, you can go solar.”
Jack is excited to witness the continued impact of solar power across the state and believes that community plays a big part in propelling Illinois toward a clean energy future.
“Communities that have a lot of solar advocacy going on tend to have a lot of folks go solar,” Jack said. “I think that people really trust the whole idea more when they see their neighbors doing it, as well.”
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