Biggest influencers in solar in Q2 2020: The top companies and individuals to follow

Using research from GlobalData’s Influencer platform, Power Technology has named ten of the most influential people in solar power on Twitter during Q2 2020.

Biggest influencers in solar: The top ten in Q2 2020

Arik Ring is an energy engineering consultant associated with companies such as Ormat and Siemens. He specialises in areas such as solar, waste heat, and other clean-tech technologies, apart from turbo-machinery, and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) and power systems.

He is proficient with solar power technologies such as solar thermal (CSP), and photovoltaics (PV), tracking systems, hybridisation, and biomass and biofuels, among others.

Twitter followers: 86,351

GlobalData influencer score: 100

RT @MichaelEMann Thomas Edison's Prescient 1931 Quote on #Solar vs. fossil #Fuel #Energy#Solarchat #Climate pic.twitter.com/w1gZwoTlct — Arik Ring – Energy Engineering Expert (@arikring) April 9, 2015

Tor Valenza is a solar energy marketing consultant and television writer. He is the founder of UnThink Solar, a communications firm, which helps solar companies reach customers for innovative branding, messaging, and social media communications.

Twitter followers: 17,609

GlobalData influencer score: 67

UK clears path for 100 giant #batteries to store wind and solarhttps://t.co/cslDAA2uCo @rechargenews @ProfStrachan @NickCowern @davconnolly @BrianVad #WWS #WindWaterSolar @IRENA @IEA @MikeHudema @arikring @RealDRothschild @HeidiHutner @croselund @SolarFred @Tesla @Teslarati — Mark Z. Jacobson (@mzjacobson) July 14, 2020

Thomas Hillig is an energy consultant, and founder of THEnergy, a boutique consultancy, focussed on microgrids, minigrids, and off-grid renewable energy. The consultancy also offers energy storage solutions for commercial and industrial customers, energy access applications and rural electrification services.

Twitter followers: 46,620

GlobalData influencer score: 64

Great!🚨#Microgrids set sail! ⛵Island resort in UAE reduces diesel consumption through solar.On islands, space is often very limited. Floating solar allows islanders to use #renewables.🏝️ #ClimateChange pic.twitter.com/UC0TDBAbDC — Dr Thomas Hillig #️⃣#Sustainability #Energy #Solar (@THEnergyNet) May 18, 2020

Jesse Jenkins is an energy consultant and an assistant professor at the Princeton University. As a macro-scale energy systems engineer, Jesse focuses on the rapidly evolving electricity sector. His areas of expertise include transition to zero-carbon resources, distributed energy resources proliferation, and the role of electricity in decarbonisation. He also offers analytics, decision support and policy advisory services to non-profit and other energy customers.

Twitter followers: 28,765

GlobalData influencer score: 63

Wind, solar & battery costs have plummeted & energy storage installs are booming. Good timing for my new paper w/@dhariksm & @nsepulvedam on "Long-run system value of battery energy storage in future grids with increasing wind and solar generation" 👀➡️https://t.co/qgBVqqbnRi https://t.co/BX3FCrHb9f pic.twitter.com/BcFgG39uKb — JesseJenkins (@JesseJenkins) July 16, 2020

Mike Hudema is an energy campaigner focusing on addressing the climate crisis, and building green opportunities. He currently serves as communications director for Canopy, an international environmental organisation working with industries such as fashion, print and packaging to tackle climate change and develop solutions that protect and preserve last frontier forests.

Twitter followers: 128,842

GlobalData influencer score: 62

Say hello to the worlds first 100% solar powered train. We have the solutions to the #climate and economic crisis. Let's implement them in a plan that lifts all of us. #GreenNewDeal #ActOnClimate #climate #energy #SolarEnergy #energy #RenewableEnergy #go100re pic.twitter.com/M9Ti5E582x — Mike Hudema (@MikeHudema) June 12, 2020

Ken Oatman is a partner-focused solar industry professional. He currently serves as the US sales manager at VSUN Solar, a solar module solutions company that offers Japanese quality solar technologies across the globe. Prior to this, he was the director of sales for Seraphim Solar System in California.

Twitter followers: 22,037

GlobalData influencer score: 58

Been looking forward to this: @ramez has updated his solar cost forecast. He has been predicting faster cost declines in solar power than anyone else in the industry … and even he hasn't been optimistic enough. It's hard to keep up! https://t.co/x4dBSV3p8C — David Roberts (@drvox) May 15, 2020

Christopher N Fox is a climate change consultant. He currently serves as senior director for International Investor Engagement at Ceres, a non-profit organisation, which focuses on building investor action on climate change and sustainability issues. Prior to Ceres, Christopher served as a consultant for the Environmental Leadership Program and as a programme associate at the Heinz Family Foundation in Washington, DC.

Twitter followers: 18,133

GlobalData influencer score: 54

UC becomes nation's largest university to divest fully from fossil fuels https://t.co/aZMIeY201W — Los Angeles Times (@latimes) May 19, 2020

Carl Siegrist is a renewable energy strategist and consultant. He is the member of the board of directors of the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC), New York. He focuses on areas such as community solar, renewable energy policies, clean technologies, sustainability, collaborative decision making, and more.

Twitter followers: 10,027

GlobalData influencer score: 52

BREAKING: The House @WaysMeansCmte formally introduces the #GREENAct with several key provisions that will enable the #solar industry to create thousands of jobs and drive America’s economic recovery. SEIA's statement: https://t.co/yZJx1m7yCV | #RebuildBetter pic.twitter.com/uEbptqKdg0 — Solar Industry (@SEIA) June 25, 2020

Jigar Shah is an energy consultant and the co-creator of Generate Capital, an investment and operating platform. He is best known to have pioneered the ‘no money down solar’ path, as founder of the largest solar services company, SunEdison. He specialises in helping entrepreneurs deploy sustainable infrastructure at scale.

Twitter followers: 23,395

GlobalData influencer score: 51

Thread by my brother @ramez on how cheap solar power is going to get. TLDR: 1) absurdly cheap; 2) doesn't solve every problem; 3) but it's an effing good start. https://t.co/CN2rjFJiju — Michael Liebreich (@MLiebreich) May 14, 2020

Michael Noble is an energy and climate policy leader. He is also the CEO and executive director of Fresh Energy, an independent non-profit organisation that helps to speed the transition to a clean energy economy. As a leader and policy advocate, Michael focuses on organising institutional and philanthropic resources to bring about the necessary change.

Twitter followers: 12,995

GlobalData influencer score: 51

Yes. Energy storage prices are coming down dramatically as well. Probably somewhat slower than solar, but still rather fast. I'll look at that – and what it means for future storage costs – in a future post in this series. https://t.co/syqJQt7qKo — Ramez Naam (@ramez) May 15, 2020