Biggest influencers in solar in Q1 2020: Top companies and individuals to follow

GlobalData research has found the top solar influencers based on their performance and engagement online. Using research from GlobalData’s Influencer platform, Verdict has named ten of the most influential people in solar on Twitter during Q1 2020.

Biggest influencers in solar: The top ten in Q1 2020

1. Arik Ring (@arikring)

Arik Ring is an energy engineering consultant. He specialises in areas such as solar, waste heat, and other clean-tech technologies, turbomachinery, power plants, HVAC and power systems. Ring has extensive experience at companies such as Ormat and Siemens, developing solar, clean-tech and turbo-machinery technologies. He is also known for bringing novel technologies to power plants.

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

Twitter followers: 85,406

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

2. Tor Valenza (@SolarFred)

Tor Valenza is a solar energy marketing consultant and television writer. He is the founder of UnThink Solar, a communications agency that focuses on providing solar companies reach their customers through innovative branding, messaging, and social media communications.

Twitter followers: 17,455

GlobalData influencer score: 73

Renewable energy in the United States is on track to overtake coal this year for the first time ever. https://t.co/72jUL6YXSK

— Axios (@axios) May 15, 2020

3. Mike Hudema (@MikeHudema)

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

Twitter followers: 127,094

GlobalData influencer score: 67

The world’s largest coal plant is being turned into a huge #solar farm. It's time we all made the switch to #renewables

We have the solutions to this crisis. Let's implement them. #ActOnClimate #ClimateCrisis #solar #wind #go100re #GreenNewDeal #PanelsNotPipelines pic.twitter.com/DbrIhgoYjr

— Mike Hudema (@MikeHudema) March 9, 2020

4. Thomas Hillig (@THEnergyNet)

Thomas Hillig is an energy consultant, and the founder of THEnergy, a boutique consultancy focussed at microgrids, minigrids, off-grid renewable energy and energy storage for commercial and industrial customers, innovative products and energy access applications, as well as rural electrification.

Twitter followers: 40,971

GlobalData influencer score: 60

Great!
Former president Jimmy Carter put #solar panels on his farmland and they're now powering half of his #Georgia hometown!https://t.co/VBh4x0uxHG @people @Neumannthehuman @CarterLibrary @Dr_CMGreer #renewables #energy pic.twitter.com/YQXikxUoVa

— Dr Thomas Hillig #️⃣#Sustainability #Energy #Solar (@THEnergyNet) February 25, 2020

5. Jesse Jenkins (@JesseJenkins)

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, including the transition to zero-carbon resources, distributed energy resources proliferation, and the role of electricity in decarbonisation.

As a consultant, he offers analytics, decision support and policy advisory services to non-profit and other energy customer working to accelerate clean energy deployment.

Twitter followers: 27,696

GlobalData influencer score: 59

In an historic first, renewable energy and nuclear power are each projected to produce more electricity than coal this year, says @eiagov, as COVID disruptions drop power demand and worsen economic pressures on coal-fired power plants across the country https://t.co/0WlIeT4gQj

— JesseJenkins (@JesseJenkins) May 14, 2020

6. Ken Oatman (@KenOatman)

Ken Oatman is a solar industry professional and marketing expert. He is is the director of sales for Seraphim Energy Group, a solar energy company based in California and the US subsidiary of Jiangsu Seraphim Solar System Company in China.

Twitter followers: 21,959

GlobalData influencer score: 59

The falling cost of making hydrogen from wind and solar power offers a promising route to cutting emissions in some of the most fossil fuel dependent sectors of the economy, such as steel, heavy-duty vehicles, shipping and cement. https://t.co/QLd82GqD8C

— BloombergNEF (@BloombergNEF) March 31, 2020

7. Carl Siegrist (@CarlSiegrist)

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

Twitter followers: 9,970

GlobalData influencer score: 54

Today solar is the cheapest form of energy in lots of states. It’s not an accident. Millions of people demanded cities & states increase clean energy access and prices dropped. We’ll keep at it until the US hits 100% clean energy. Great @planetmoney story: https://t.co/IbaMlXrYfJ

— Mary Anne Hitt (@maryannehitt) February 21, 2020

8. Tom Cheyney (@cheynman)

Tom Cheyney is a solar energy consultant. He contributes towards solar, renewables and climate solutions content, strategy and market intelligence at Kiterocket, a PR and marketing agency. He is part of a team that leads solar energy, storage, and sustainability practices.

Twitter followers: 5,495

GlobalData influencer score: 50

For the second month in a row, and third month ever, electricity generation from renewables in the U.S. topped coal. Solar, wind and hydropower also beat out coal for the first time on a quarterly basis: https://t.co/GtXIu4t8Su pic.twitter.com/jzqBQEzSYM

— ⚡Taylor Kuykendall (@taykuy) April 1, 2020

9. Jigar Shah (@JigarShahDC)

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: 22,960

GlobalData influencer score: 50

We're entering the third phase of clean energy, where it's cheaper to build new solar / wind than to operate already built coal plants.

This is the real reason finance for coal is drying up. Coal plants are just terrible investments at this point. https://t.co/aCUq28eykt

— Ramez Naam (@ramez) March 12, 2020

10. Michael Noble (@NobleIdeas)

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: 12,923

GlobalData influencer score: 49

Solar in sunny places is just mind-bogglingly cheap now. The latest world record: 1.35 cents / kwh in Abu Dhabi. That compares to ~5 cent / kwh from the cheapest coal & gas plants around the world.

And solar & storage will keep getting cheaper. https://t.co/SsIMVzxvSd

— Ramez Naam (@ramez) April 29, 2020