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David McCaulley

Clean Energy Operations Manager | Houston, Tx.

In 2007, the U.S. Navy called up reservist David McCaulley to serve a stint in Iraq. His time abroad gave him a unique vantage point on the need for America to cut its dependence on foreign oil and forge a clean energy future.

"Prior to my deployment, I went to Germany and saw solar panels there, and I got to see how their system is much more advanced than America's," McCaulley says. "Not the technology -- that is the same. But the government and municipalities there are using...solar power a lot better than we are. Where there used to be cows, there are now solar panels.

"Maybe at some point, we could be at the same place."

The company where he works is helping us to get there. Standard Renewable Energy provides homes and businesses with clean energy solutions such as solar panels, wind turbines and high-efficiency heating and cooling systems.

For SRE's clients, that means lower energy bills, increased energy reliability and a smaller impact on the environment. The company has nearly 250 full-time or contract employees and expects to grow to 400 people by the end of 2009.

McCaulley hopes that his work helps his five children grow up in a country where "we're self-reliant and not dependent on foreign energy sources," he says. "There are a lot of different areas -- a lot of potential for kids coming out of school in the side of engineering."

As a kid, when McCaulley and his father went on camping trips, his dad used to remind him about the dangers of leaving a negative impact on the planet.

Knowing about today's advancements in clean energy technology, and his son's role in it, his father "would be very pleased with what he sees," McCaulley says.

last revised 6/11/2009