LEXINGTON, KY – The Rotary Club of Lexington will hold its weekly meeting on Thursday, October 10, at The Mane on Main, Chase Bank building on Main St. The guest speaker is Adam Edelen, CEO & Founder, Edelen Renewables.
This meeting will also be on Zoom. For the Zoom link please email, trafton@rotarylexky.org.
If you would like to have lunch, please contact Jenny@rotarylexky.org to reserve your meal.
With a founding mission of bringing the promise of renewable energy to the forgotten places, Edelen Renewables is the only solar development firm in America with a sole focus on socially impactful projects that provide the triple-bottom line return of meeting the climate challenge, driving economic transition in forgotten communities, and creating legacy impact for off-takers and communities alike.
Adam Edelen is a dynamic leader with a demonstrated record in both the private and public sectors. As Founder & CEO of Edelen Renewables, he has garnered significant attention for forming partnerships to pioneer coal-to-solar projects, and other-green energy developments in struggling energy communities.
A former Chief of Staff to a Kentucky Governor and statewide elected official in his own right, Adam was known as a modernizing reformer with a results-oriented, bi partisan leader. His commitment to public service and creating economic opportunity for those who need it serves as the foundation of his firm’s unique Social Impact Solar® approach to development.
He has been named “The Outstanding Young Kentuckian” and one of the “Ten Outstanding Young Americans” by the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce. More recently, he has been honored by the Aspen Institute and the German Marshall Fund. He is a graduate of the University of Kentucky. A student of history, this proud father of twin sons is an avid sportsman and fan of the Kentucky Wildcats and the Atlanta Braves.
Come learn how Edelen Renewables is providing more than clean energy to rural America.
Rotary in Review
THE ELECTRIFICATION OF EVERYTHING: ARE YOU READY?
We are on the verge of the electrification of everything and we better get ready for it! This was both the prediction and the challenge presented with the fervor of a southern Baptist at a tent revival by Adam Edelen, founder and CEO of Edelen Renewables. Edelen, formerly Chief of Staff to Governor Paul Patton and Auditor of Public Accounts, is the Founder and CEO of Edelen Renewables. Edelen Renewables is dedicated to bringing renewable energy projects to the “forgotten places.” Per its webpage, its current project list spans more than a dozen states, including Kentucky, and represents three gigawatts of solar energy and storage, with a potential private equity investment exceeding $3 billion!
As a starting point, Rotarians were presented with the following bold statement: “We are living through one of the great economic, social, cultural, and technological transitions of all time.” Edelen was referring to the Green Energy Revolution. He went on to state his belief that over the next fifty years this transition will fuel the greatest creation of wealth since the advent of the internet and asked the question “how do we seize the opportunities provided by this profound technological shift?”
As evidence that the shift to renewable energy has moved beyond politics, he noted that every Fortune 500 company has sustainability commitments, driven by shareholders. This includes companies whose history is based on the recovery and sale of fossil fuels. As an example, he cites Shell, referred to by Edelen as the “biggest polluter on the planet.” Two reasons for this were noted. First, renewable electricity has become the most cost-effective new form of power on the plant, competitive with natural gas. The days of coal as a power source are, in his option, over. A second driver stems from the fact that millennials and the gen Z demographic combined far surpass the baby boomers and the business plan for these companies of necessity includes remaining relevant to this dominant generational cohort. Don’t believe it? Edelen cites the decision of Toyota to phase out within a couple of years the gas-only powered Camry, the most popular vehicle in America.
To bring this all back to his current role as a businessman, where he does not have to persuade but rather be right, he notes that to meet their sustainability goals, companies have to purchase renewable energy from companies like Edelen Renewables. In meeting those energy needs, Edelen believes that the benefits of renewable can be brought to what he refers to as the “forgotten places of America.” His vision has come to life in Martin County, Kentucky.
The Martin Count Solar Project is taking shape on the 2,000-acre former Martiki mine site. His company’s investment of $231 million represents the largest capital investment ever made in that county. The project will generate 200 megawatts of clean energy, “by far” the largest solar project in the Commonwealth. Phase I has just been completed; Toyota will purchase the power.
Edelen also noted with pride the involvement of coal company executives in his project, noting that while they likely do not vote for the same people, “you don’t have to agree on everything to agree on something.”
-John Wharton
Recent Updates
ROTARIAN’S IN THE NEWS
Nov. 7 – Dr. Ryan Quarles, President, KCTCS and Dr. Greg Feeney, President, BCTC : “Milestones and the Path Forward”
Club Leadership Attends Rotary Large Club Conference in Memphis, TN.
Oct. 24- CANCELLED – Due to Circumstances Beyond our Controll! NO WEEKLY LUNCH MEETING!
Rotary Club of Lexington Launches New Website to Enhance Community Engagement