Sunrun Expands Policy Presence to Southeast with New South Carolina Hire
March 11, 2015
Tyson Grinstead served as Senator Lindsey Graham’s political director during 2014 election cycle
COLUMBIA, SC – Sunrun, the largest dedicated residential solar company in the United States, has expanded its Public Policy presence to the Southeast by adding Tyson Grinstead to the team. Grinstead is the first dedicated, Southeast-based policy hire for Sunrun. With a background in conservative grassroots politics, Grinstead is well-positioned to help lead the defense against monopolist utilities trying to eliminate the growing rooftop solar industry.
Grinstead joins Sunrun after serving as Senator Lindsey Graham’s Political Director for the 2014 election cycle. He also served as Political Director for the South Carolina Republican Party’s Victory 2014 campaign and for Congressman Tom Rice’s primary election campaign.
“I look forward to helping preserve and expand the competitive rooftop solar market in the Southeast,” said Grinstead. “Consumers throughout the Southeast deserve a chance to power their own homes with solar and reduce their electricity costs.”
Sunrun is a founding member of The Alliance for Solar Choice (TASC), which leads rooftop solar advocacy across the country. TASC’s Southeast campaigns in 2014 helped establishSouth Carolina as the 44th state to adopt the fundamental solar policy net metering. Net metering credits solar customers at the retail rate for the excess electricity they provide to the grid. Utilities sell this energy to customers nearby at the full retail value. Grinstead will help preserve net metering in the southeast and defend rooftop solar against utility attacks.
“Tyson has deep political experience in the Southeast that he will apply directly to defending solar from aggressive utility attacks,” said Bryan Miller, vice president of public policy and power markets at Sunrun and co-chairman of TASC. “His local presence will allow Sunrun to continue its involvement in critical discussions about the future of solar.”
Grinstead is a graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Law, and he received his undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). While atUNC, Grinstead served as Chairman of the statewide North Carolina Federation of College Republicans.
About Sunrun
Sunrun pioneered solar as a service, a way for homeowners to go solar without the high upfront cost, and is the largest dedicated residential solar company in the U.S. Sunrun provides end-to-end service for homeowners to choose cleaner, cheaper, solar energy and fix their electric costs for 20 years. The company designs, installs, finances, insures, monitors and maintains the solar panels on a homeowner’s roof, while families pay just for the electricity at a lower rate than their current utility. Since Sunrun introduced solar as a service in 2007, it has become the preferred way for consumers to go solar in the nation’s top solar markets. For more information please visit: www.sunrun.com.
