Jack West (inventor)

Jack West is President and CTO of Glissphonic LLC and was, until February 2017, the 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], and SolarCity was acquired by Tesla in 2016.[3] West founded Zep Solar in 2009 along with Christina Manansala and Daniel Flanigan[4] and helped to grow the company into the market leader in residential solar mounting equipment.[5] In 2014, one in three residential solar systems installed in the United States contained Zep Solar technology.[2] While at SolarCity, and subsequently at Tesla, West led the development of the product that became known as the Tesla Solar Roof.[6]

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[7] The company was later acquired by Acro.[8] In 2000, West and Manansala co-founded High Sun Engineering, one of the first engineering consultancies focused on PV system design.[9] 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.

Music Career

West is also an accomplished jazz guitarist, having released five albums[10] with his band Jack West & Curvature and one solo album.[11] Acoustic Guitar Magazine awarded Jack West's fourth album, As We Know It, top honors in its self-released CD competition in 2000.[12] West’s music is frequently used as segue music for NPR programming[13] and he was a winner of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest in 2004 for his composition, “This Life May be Monitored for Quality Assurance”.[14]

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. ↑ "It's official: Tesla's acquisition of SolarCity has closed". www.businessinsider.com. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  4. ↑ "ZEPHYR - Bureau van Dijk". bvdinfo.com.
  5. ↑ Tyler Crowe (22 December 2013). "SolarCity's Greatest Move Was the One You Didn't Hear About". fool.com.
  6. ↑ "Inside “Steel Pulse,” The Project That Became Elon Musk’s Solar Roof". www.fastcompany.com. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  7. ↑ "Products & Services for Renewable or Alternate Energy". discoversolarenergy.com.
  8. ↑ Robert van de Walle. "Acro Energy". lightenergysystems.blogspot.com.
  9. ↑ "Jack West: Executive Profile & Biography - Businessweek". Businessweek.com.
  10. ↑ http://aheadbehind.com/index
  11. ↑ "Jack West @ All About Jazz". All About Jazz.
  12. ↑ http://www.sfweekly.com/sanfrancisco/hear-this/Content?oid=2142574
  13. ↑ "All Things Considered for November 25, 2011". NPR.org. 25 November 2011.
  14. ↑ http://jlsc.com/winners/2004/finalists.php
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