YPiE Spotlight: Meet Ryan Polson

Name: Ryan Polson

Title: Senior Energy Consultant

Employer: Standard Power

City/Town of Residence: Raymond

Why did you decide to work in the clean energy industry?

To be honest, I was in need of a job. I was a year out of college, still job searching and not having much luck. I knew my current boss outside of work for a long time and he invited me in to interview. Little did I know that going on eight years later, I'd still be working in the energy world and loving what I do.

What interested you in working at your current employer?

At the beginning, it was merely a job. As I became further involved in the energy world, I grew to love what we do at Standard Power, and that makes me happy.

Describe the work you do in more detail.

Standard Power at its core is a sales company with strong efforts to develop and see renewable energy grow and thrive. We're often a multi-hat company, which I think is more enjoyable than doing the same thing every day. I'll have days where I do sales work, days where I run our pricing channel, and days where I'm managing our extensive hydroelectric program.

What aspect of your job excites you most? Why?

My work within the hydro industry probably excites me the most. Seeing old, run-down facilities rebuilt and brought back to life is such a cool thing.

What makes you hopeful about the clean energy transition in New Hampshire?

This is probably the easy answer, but younger generations are becoming more engaged in what we do to the planet. There's more engagement and action which hopefully leads to a better, more sustainable future.

What do you believe is the most pressing challenge that lies ahead for the clean energy industry in the state?

Politics. It's difficult to get things passed when both sides disagree a lot of the time. We have had some energy victories recently, so there is some progress being made.

What interested you most about being part of YPiE?

Finding like-minded people who do similar things in this industry.

What advice would you give to someone that is new to the industry or fresh out of college?

If you're seriously interested in the energy world, inundate yourself with as much information as possible. Read articles, attend events, intern or job shadow somewhere. Truly find out what you're passionate about - which I know can be daunting as a recent high school or college grad.

A typical weekend for me is…

I'm usually exploring local breweries with my wife, riding my bike, or watching movies.

What’s on your bucket list?

Visit New Zealand. (Lord of the Rings fan, obviously)

Tell us one thing most people don’t know about you.

I know too much about the show Full House.

Fun Facts:

• I'm a blonde hair, blue eyed, lefty in a family of brown/black hair, brown-eyed righties.

• Play guitar.

• Was Prince at my Junior Prom.