Kevin M Schulte

CEO

GreenSpark Solar

Years in current role: 23

What personal or professional environmental effort are you most proud of?

In 2024, GreenSpark installed more than 15% of all the solar in New York state, one of the country’s top 10 solar markets. In this past year alone, GreenSpark has installed enough solar panels to offset 1,325,000 tons of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere and power more than nearly 10,000 homes each year in which it operates. We have done this in the face of a challenging market where pushback from utilities and a handful of anti-solar communities has become the norm. We have done this while working with farmers to ensure we are using their least productive agricultural land, preserving prime soils, ensuring runoff is cleaner than the project’s agricultural predecessor, and grazing most of the sites we maintain. 2025 marks our 23rd year of working to reduce the carbon footprint.

What are you most optimistic about regarding the Rochester region’s approach to environmental issues?

Ironically, what makes me most optimistic is the utter disarray that our utility infrastructure is in. Though that may not sound positive, we have faster, cheaper, more easily deployed, and longer-lasting solutions than the decades-old ones typically used to solve these challenges. As electricity consumption is on the rise for the first time in more than two decades, I look toward our utilities to make a real effort to view themselves as a partner in the effort to decarbonize our grid in a just and equitable way. That’s what makes me optimistic.

What are you most concerned about regarding the Rochester region’s approach to environmental issues?

Our local utility has the opportunity to either be the greatest catalyst for reducing our region’s carbon footprint or its biggest impediment. The utility needs to choose. If it embraces the changes in the market, it can go from being the biggest economic development hurdle in our region to its greatest benefactor.

What advice would you give someone who is looking to make a difference in addressing environmental issues?

Start with small decisions and go from there. You can start with small choices like using compostable straws or turning the lights off whenever you leave a room. From there, your impact can grow with bigger decisions, like adding solar to your home, choosing an EV, or installing a heat pump. It may even become a career choice. Each decision matters in our journey to protect our earth, and if we are deliberate about making them, we can each succeed in our journey. These successes will also bring you economic gains as there are very economical decisions that are eco-friendly at every step and available to all.

What is your favorite outdoor activity in the Rochester area?

I love living in a place where the forest meets the water. I like being on the water or hiking along the shores as often as possible.

This profile is part of our Power List for Environmental Leaders for 2024. Information used in this profile was sourced from the honoree. View the full list at rbj.net.