Charging Up: Climatetech career moves at Sunrun, SunPower, Enel, NextEra, Virtual Peaker, Elemental and more

Linh Tran is an energy storage and battery expert who is currently VP of sales at FranklinWH Energy Storage Inc. This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for brevity.

1. How did you end up on this career path? 

The short answer is waiting tables. I had just finished my MBA and I was waiting tables while also working at the plutonium facility at Lawrence Livermore Labs as a senior electronic technologist. One night, executives from Comverge, a California aggregator with offices next door, came into the restaurant and we got to talking. They were interviewing for some sales jobs, so I applied and was hired. That’s how I started my career in energy: doing sales for commercial demand-response programs for some of the largest energy users in California. I introduced Tesla to some of their first battery customers and realized that lithium batteries were going to be a huge player in the energy market. I’ve been working on storage solutions ever since. 

2. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

Someone once told me to do my job as if I were running my own business. This was especially helpful since I was in an emerging space without a lot of direction or blueprints. Much of the time it was like swinging in the dark. That mentality gave me an opportunity to springboard on a lot of personal and professional goals.

3. What is a barrier you faced, and how did you overcome it? 

I started my career working in a plutonium facility, which was very male-dominated. While I was getting my MBA, someone said to me that I was not facing a glass ceiling but one made of two-foot-thick concrete. So, of course, there have been barriers. It’s tricky to say how I have overcome them because I don’t know that I have. I think, unfortunately, barriers are still very present.

4. What are the most exciting new career opportunities in climatetech? 

Hands down, solar sales. I have said for years that solar is really all about people knocking on doors and telling homeowners about their options in solar energy. But it’s difficult to communicate effectively. Most people do not know how to interpret their utility bills, so how can we expect them to understand the nuances of generating power on their rooftops? People selling solar systems have a huge challenge — but also a great opportunity. We can make homeowners part of the solutions to the grid rather than part of the problem, and there’s a lot of revenue to be made as well.

5. What is your superpower? 

I have the ability to make something out of nothing, and because of that, I am able to see opportunities where others might not. That is what we were able to do at LG very early on with the battery products. On a personal note, I can go into my kitchen and make a complete meal that you would not know came from limited ingredients, like in that show Chopped. I’ve always thought I would rock that show. 

Career moves

At SunPower, Maureen Obiri was promoted to senior manager for multifamily construction projects; Katie Brown was promoted to senior director of analytics and remote operations; and Whitney Archon was promoted to diversity, equity and inclusion program specialist. SunPower sells, installs and finances solar power products and batteries.

Kendra Hubbard, previously with Hyundai Energy Solutions America, is now customer solutions architect at EagleView, a provider of aerial imagery, property insights and software for customers in the government, construction, insurance and solar industries.