Solar United Neighbors (SUN)

Solar United Neighbors began in 2007 after executive director Anya Schoolman saw former Vice President Al Gore’s documentary An Inconvenient Truth, purchased solar panels for her own home, and thought to lower the cost through a cooperative bulk purchase. With her neighbors, she created a bulk purchasing group, the Mt. Pleasant Solar Cooperative. ²

Programs

Solar United Neighbors’ goal is to transform the American energy industry with solar as the key component. Programs to meet this goal include training local “solar advocates” or environmental activists, helping individuals switch to solar home power through group buying programs, marketing campaigns to change how solar is viewed in right-wing and left-wing communities, policy advocacy, and encouraging solar jobs growth. ¹

As part of its staff, Solar United Neighbors has an Energy, Equity, and Inclusion Team with eight team members. ³ Solar United Neighbors’ website also includes a “diversity statement.” ⁴

Solar United Neighbors’ opposition to coal and nuclear energy is shown in claims that the solar industry creates more jobs than those fields, and the promotion of training programs that re-train coal miners to work in the solar industry. ⁵ Solar United Neighbors also claims that solar is a “more secure power source than coal, oil, nuclear, or natural gas.” ⁶

Financial

In 2022, Solar United Neighbors reported $6,158,947 in revenues and $6,079,147 in expenses, with $7,433,806 in total assets. ⁷ In 2022, Solar United Neighbors reported revenues including $826,100 in service fees and $83,000 in government contracts, with an additional $221,000 in government grants. ⁸

Bloomberg Philanthropies donated $1,000,000 to Solar United Neighbors in 2022 to “accelerate transition to clean energy.” ⁷ Bloomberg Philanthropies, also known as the Bloomberg Family Foundation, is an $11 billion foundation created by left-leaning former Mayor of New York City and Democratic presidential primary candidate Michael R. Bloomberg. ⁹

In 2022, the Windward Fund, an environmentalist fiscal sponsor organization, donated $600,000 to Solar United Neighbors. ⁷

In 2022, the United States Energy Foundation donated $524,250 to Solar United Neighbors to “support education and outreach to build a clean energy future.” ⁷

Solar United Neighbors Action, the lobbying sister organization to Solar United Neighbors with an emphasis on “equitable transition to clean energy,” reported $325,000 in revenues and $209,054 in expenses in 2022, with $467,171 in total assets. ¹⁰

People

Anya Schoolman is the executive director of Solar United Neighbors. ⁷ Schoolman advised some Biden administration grantees on their applications for solar energy grants. ¹¹

Courtney Cuff is a board member at Solar United Neighbors. In 2017, Cuff became the executive director of the State Impact Project, which is a project of the Hopewell Fund. ¹² The Hopewell Fund is a fundraising group managed by left-of-center consulting firm Arabella Advisors. ¹³