In 2011, SunShare was founded by David Amster-Olszewski, an ambitious young man with a simple mission: to make solar energy affordable and accessible to everyone.

David had been working for SunPower in California when he had an interesting conversation with his mother. She felt that rooftop solar was impractical and uneconomical, and did not understand why anyone should be required to put solar panels on their roof to get solar energy. It isn’t as though everyone puts a coal plant in their backyard to get fossil fuel electricity. David listened.

The problem was obvious. Most people live and work in facilities that are ill-equipped for rooftop solar, and they have no way to access the environmental and economic benefits of solar energy.

When David heard about the Colorado Community Solar Gardens Act and the concept of shared solar, he put wheels in motion and decided to start his business concept in Colorado Springs, where he had previously attended Colorado College. His idea was to build large solar arrays on underutilized land and enable community members to buy a share of solar energy. SunShare was born. He worked tirelessly with community members, including the local utility, city council members, schools, businesses, and residents to build and subscribe the first Community Solar Gardens in the nation. His hard work paid off and SunShare’s first 500kW Solar Garden sold out in a record 10 weeks.