Pivot Energy is a renewable energy provider and independent power producer that develops, finances, builds, owns, and manages solar and energy storage projects. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Pivot Energy CEO Tom Hunt to learn more about the company.
Tom Hunt’s Background
What is Tom Hunt’s background? Hunt said:
“I’ve worked in renewable energy generation for the past 13 years or so, with 10 years of that being focused on community solar. I’ve been involved in scaling that industry from its very beginning. I’ve been CEO of Pivot since 2019 and before that – at Pivot and elsewhere – was very active in community solar policy initiatives. My original career was as a chemist, where I did Research & Development work on methods to synthesize biofuels.”
Formation Of The Company
How did the idea for the company come together? Hunt shared:
“Pivot started as a commercial solar installer in the Midwest about 15 years ago. Those were really the only types of distributed solar projects being done in that region at that time, and from the beginning, the idea for the company was that distributed solar would be the best way to modernize our electric grid. The company moved into community solar starting around 2016 and has grown nationwide since then.”
Favorite Memory
What has been your favorite memory working for the company so far? Hunt reflected:
“My favorite memories are all obscure daily moments where Pivot has unlocked a bit of improvement or team growth that allows us to take on a bigger challenge. The U.S. is in the process of remaking the electric system, which is thus remaking our entire economy. It’s a complex, messy business figuring out how to develop, build, finance, and operate dozens of multi-million dollar renewable energy projects at the same time, in a sector that no one has really scaled before. I’m most proud of how far Pivot has made it in that direction. But the industry still has a long way to go!”
Core Products
What are the company’s core offerings and products? Hunt explained:
“Pivot Energy is a renewable energy provider and independent power producer that develops, finances, builds, owns, and manages solar and energy storage projects. Pivot leverages its renewable expertise to provide a range of unique offerings that accelerate the renewable energy transition by helping companies and communities attain impactful decarbonization. Pivot is a US-based Certified B-Corporation that proudly follows a corporate strategy aimed at providing a positive impact on society as measured by Environmental stewardship, Social leadership, and responsible Governance factors.”
“Pivot Energy develops and offers on-site and off-site commercial and community-scale solar projects.
Our offerings include:
– Onsite solar: rooftop solar, carport systems, and ground-mounts.
– Offsite solar: Larger, ground-mounted greenfield commercial, and community-solar projects on large fields.
– Services: Community-solar gardens & subscriptions, Virtual Net Metering, Renewable Energy Credits (RECs), small-scale utility, and battery storage.”
Challenges Faced
What challenges has the solar sector recently faced, and how is Pivot overcoming those challenges? Hunt acknowledged:
“The biggest challenge that the solar sector has faced recently has also been the biggest opportunity. We have seen a huge influx of demand coming from corporate clients and community partners as they’ve realized they need different types of resources for the electric supply they want in the future. We see this from the types of clients we’ve been working with recently, such as Walmart, Rivian, Microsoft, and others. They see that they need renewable energy, they need it faster than the transmission grid can supply, and they need it to be more dynamic and more attuned to their specific energy needs. With that, the scale at which distributed solar is being procured has exploded.”
“But the challenge that comes with that is figuring out how to deploy at scale, and how to get the grid to modernize quickly to accept more dynamic, distributed resources. Pivot has tackled the scaling challenge by setting up financing and operational infrastructure that enable flexibility and growth. And we are working with policymakers, corporate partners, and regulators to push for shifts to more dynamic ways for utilities to evaluate and track their grid equipment.”
Core Products
How have the company’s products or offerings evolved since launching? Hunt noted:
“Pivot has evolved in many different ways, but always with the same core focus of delivering distributed scale renewable energy projects that communities and corporate partners want. That originally took the form of rooftop arrays for commercial clients – at a size that was big at the time, but seems tiny now (~25 kW per project!). We then shifted into community solar when we saw that it was a much easier and more efficient way to deliver renewable energy to clients. More recently, we’ve found that those same clients and communities want distributed scale projects at a larger size – 5 MWs or more per site – and with a variety of attributes and ways to participate in the project. Thus, Pivot is diversifying the contracting and products we offer, with a heavy emphasis on the positive impacts distributed projects bring to the communities they are sited in.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of the company’s most significant milestones? Hunt cited:
By helping companies and communities attain impactful decarbonization, Pivot is accelerating an equitable clean energy transition. Pivot takes a purpose-driven approach to solar development, including commitments to land stewardship practices and meaningful community engagement and investment.”
“Pivot is at the vanguard of impact solar initiatives, and is proud of its role in helping the nation transition to clean energy – a transition that prioritizes energy equity and delivers meaningful benefits to the communities where projects are located.”
Pivot Energy has been a leader in developing solar projects since it was founded in 2009 and is proud of the impact we have had to date. We currently have 4 gigawatts (GW) of solar projects completed or under development, which is nearly 1,800 projects. We have installed or completed 1,000+ solar projects, which is roughly 275 MW, spanning 30 states. And, we currently have nearly 750 solar projects under development. In 2024 alone, Pivot announced significant partnerships with leading global companies, including Microsoft, Walmart, and Rivian. Specifically:
– A 5-year framework agreement with Microsoft to develop up to 500 megawatts (MWac) of community-scale solar energy projects across the U.S. between 2025 and 2029.
– A strategic tax equity investment with Walmart for Pivot to develop 19 clean energy projects across the country.
– A partnership with American EV maker Rivian to purchase a total of 60 Megawatts (MWdc) of solar energy for its Illinois manufacturing facility.”
Funding
When asking Hunt about the company’s funding details, he revealed:
“Pivot has been owned by ECP, the leading energy-focused private equity firm, since 2021. It’s been a strong partnership, and they have provided significant funding to scale the company and deploy our project pipeline.” Pivot has secured more than $1.5 billion in financing since early 2022.
Total Addressable Market
What is the total addressable market (TAM) size that the company is pursuing? Hunt assessed:
“As a developer of commercial and community scale projects, we are pursuing the full size of both of those markets, but the evolution and blurring of those segments means the opportunity continues to grow. Corporate clients are increasingly looking to procure large portfolios of distributed projects, and grid operators are recognizing that large amounts of distributed solar and storage can deploy quickly and avoid enormous transmission costs. Thus, the full size of the market really becomes a major chunk of the full size of the electric grid.”
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates the company from its competition? Hunt affirmed:
“One of the things that really sets Pivot apart is its purpose-driven approach and commitment to build solar projects that provide meaningful social benefits to the communities where we develop and operate projects.”
“Pivot focuses our investments on two social impact pillars: 1) reducing energy burden for income-limited households and 2) creating workforce pathways for local residents into the solar industry. Community solar subscriptions – as well as donations to local nonprofits working to reduce energy burden – can be a powerful form of social impact. Pivot’s unique approach enables the reduction of energy burden and increases energy assistance to provide long-term stability through monthly bill savings, inviting vulnerable communities to participate in and benefit from the clean energy transition.”
“Pivot is one of the nation’s largest community solar developers and providers, with leading positions in many of the largest community solar markets. This scale allows us to be more dynamic and creative in solving the inevitable issues that develop in developing and interconnecting projects. As a fully integrated independent power producer that does everything from originating the project sites to establishing the corporate offtake partnerships to building, financing, and operating the projects, we are able to control the full value of the project and ensure a high quality experience for stakeholders all throughout the project lifecycle.”
Future Company Goals
Q.) What are some of the future company goals? Hunt emphasized:
“Pivot’s goal is to continue making a difference in communities across the U.S. and be a leading and purpose-driven renewable energy provider and independent power producer. The company is fiercely committed to doing this by staying true to its purpose and executing on its mission and vision. Its mission: Be a leader in the battle against climate change, doing our part to make distributed generation a part of the solution. Its vision: Accelerating the equitable shift to clean energy in communities throughout the nation by developing, financing and servicing renewable energy solutions.”
“Specific to the company’s solar project development goals, Pivot is focused on continuing to secure new corporate partnerships. In 2025, our goal is to complete development of 265 MW of new community-scale solar projects, scaling to 300+ MW per year, over the next 2-3 years.
Additional Thoughts
Any other topics you would like to discuss? Hunt concluded:
“Pivot Energy is a leader, pioneer, and champion in agrivoltaics, the practice of combining agriculture and solar, to maximize the land where it develops community solar projects. Dual-land use positively impacts the environment around our projects.
Pivot has more solar grazing sites than most U.S. developers and continues to fast-track building agrivoltaics projects. Pivot Energy has always built agrivoltaics projects that incorporate pollinators and/or sheep grazing, but began assuming agrivoltaics as a standard for all projects developed starting in 2023.
- 95% of Pivot’s ground-mounted solar arrays, across 7 states, utilize livestock grazing, enhanced habitat, and crop production.
- Currently, nearly 80% of Pivot’s solar sites are using agrivoltaics.
- As of Spring 2025, Pivot has 30 total completed projects that have active grazing, with 42 anticipated by spring 2026, more than just about any other developer.
- Pivot has 40+ under contract, in early development, and planned for mid-to-late 2026 to start grazing activities.
- As of Spring 2025, Pivot has 30 total completed projects that have active grazing, with 42 anticipated by spring 2026, more than just about any other developer.
- Non-sheep grazing sites still incorporate some sort of agrivoltaics via eco-voltaics, aka pollinator-friendly habitats or crop production.
- The other 5% are either located on roofs or on brownfield sites, where these practices do not apply
- The number of Pivot sites incorporating agrivoltaics has grown by 200% since 2023.
- In 2025 and beyond, we anticipate adding 50-60 more agrivoltaics projects per year.
