An Open Letter to the Solar and Storage Industry – CleanTechnica

---

Support CleanTechnica’s work through a Substack subscription or on Stripe.

---

From Abigail Ross Hopper, President & CEO, Solar Energy Industries Association

October 21, 2025

To my friends, colleagues, and partners across the solar and storage industry,

After nearly nine years leading the Solar Energy Industries Association, I have made the decision to step down as president and CEO, effective January 30, 2026. Leading SEIA and serving this community has been one of the great honors of my professional life. But I feel that now is the time for my next chapter.

As I think back on the adventure we’ve been on together over the last nine years, it’s difficult to put into words what this work, and all of you, have meant to me, personally and professionally. When I came to SEIA in 2017, we were an emerging industry with incredible potential. Today, we are a cornerstone of America’s energy economy, an economic engine, a beacon of technology and innovation, and an industry with limitless potential for growth.

Together, we’ve expanded the U.S. solar industry from 36 gigawatts (GW) at the start of 2017 to more than 255 GW today. Back then, we had just over 1 million residential solar customers, and now we have more than 5.5 million. We ranked 14^th in solar manufacturing globally, and now we are the world’s 3^rd largest solar manufacturing economy.

But the data doesn’t tell the story of what it took to get there. The growth we’ve experienced over the years is a result of our collective grit and determination. We’ve navigated fierce policy battles and market challenges, from trade cases to tax debates, and yet we’ve always emerged stronger. We fought — and won — historic policy battles, at every level of government. Our policy achievements continue to lay the groundwork for our industry to thrive for decades to come.

And while market progress drives the headlines, our success cannot be measured in gigawatts alone. We’ve built an industry that is sustainable, inclusive, accountable, and more united than ever before. Through initiatives like Solar Sisters, the creation of the Solar and Storage Industries Institute, our expansion into storage advocacy, partnerships like Solar Uncommon Dialogue, and the establishment of industry standards, we not only expanded our reach, we demonstrated our strong values as an industry. We’ve shown that doing what’s right — on labor, supply chains, recycling, land use, and consumer protection — is also what allows us to mature as an industry.

This year has been challenging for our industry, but I remain optimistic about our future. SEIA is stronger than ever, led by an extraordinary team and a deeply engaged board. Our industry has the talent, the technology, the market mandate, and the moral clarity to finish the job we set out to do, delivering clean, affordable, reliable energy that serves as the foundation of America’s economic future.

To our 1,200 SEIA member companies, thank you for your partnership, your investment, and your trust in me and the SEIA team to work on your behalf. To my SEIA colleagues, thank you for your relentless drive and passionate belief in what’s possible. To my Solar Sisters, thank you for inspiring and lifting me up each day with your ideas, your good nature, and commitment to our industry. To my friends and partners across this solar family, thank you for your collaboration and shared commitment to building something bigger than one company or one person. It’s the personal relationships and our shared commitment to this work that will always mean the most to me.

This is not a goodbye, but a handoff. I will always be cheering this industry on, and I cannot wait to see the heights you’ll reach next.

With gratitude and love,

Abby

Republished from SEIA.