Jack West (inventor)

Jack West is president and CTO of Zep Solar, a manufacturer of solar photovoltaic (PV) mounting and grounding equipment based in San Rafael, California. West is also an inventor, entrepreneur and musician. He is most known for inventing rail-free mounting technology and leading Zep Solar’s commercialization of that technology.[1] Zep Solar was acquired by SolarCity in 2013.[2] West founded Zep Solar in 2009 along with Christina Manansala and Daniel Flanigan[3] and helped to grow the company into the market leader in residential solar mounting equipment.[4] In 2014, one in three residential solar systems installed in the United States contained Zep Solar technology.[2]

History

In the early '90s, prior to founding Zep Solar, West launched the photovoltaic division of Light Energy Systems, a PV design and contracting firm that designed and installed the San Francisco Bay Area’s first grid-tied PV system[5] The company was later acquired by Acro.[6] In 2000, West and Manansala co-founded High Sun Engineering, one of the first engineering consultancies focused on PV system design.[7] West was inspired as a college student to end reliance on fossil fuels and served in 1990 as co-director of the Campus Center for Appropriate Technology, a student-run sustainability organization at Humboldt State University.

Musical career

West is also an accomplished jazz guitarist, having released five albums[8] with his band Jack West & Curvature and one solo album.[9] Acoustic Guitar Magazine awarded Jack West's fourth album, As We Know It, top honors in its self-released CD competition in 2000.[10] West’s music is frequently used as segue music for NPR programming[11] and he was a winner of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest in 2004 for his composition, “This Life May be Monitored for Quality Assurance”.[12]

References

  1. ↑ "Schatz Energy Research Center - Sustainable Futures Speaker Series". schatzlab.org.
  2. 1 2 "SolarCity Acquires Zep Solar for $158 Million". greentechmedia.com.
  3. ↑ "ZEPHYR - Bureau van Dijk". bvdinfo.com.
  4. ↑ Tyler Crowe (22 December 2013). "SolarCity's Greatest Move Was the One You Didn't Hear About". fool.com.
  5. ↑ "Products & Services for Renewable or Alternate Energy". discoversolarenergy.com.
  6. ↑ Robert van de Walle. "Acro Energy". lightenergysystems.blogspot.com.
  7. ↑ "Jack West: Executive Profile & Biography - Businessweek". Businessweek.com.
  8. ↑ http://aheadbehind.com/index
  9. ↑ "Jack West @ All About Jazz". All About Jazz.
  10. ↑ http://www.sfweekly.com/sanfrancisco/hear-this/Content?oid=2142574
  11. ↑ "All Things Considered for November 25, 2011". NPR.org. 25 November 2011.
  12. ↑ http://jlsc.com/winners/2004/finalists.php
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