Veteran Finds Opportunities With GRID

Sean Fullmer has been an environmental advocate since he was a little kid, “I even loved those tiny solar panels on calculators,” he says, “I like figuring out how things work.”

After serving in the Navy, Mr. Fullmer spent time canvassing for Greenpeace. “It was a tough job, but I wanted to be part of a solution,” he says. Mr. Fullmer now sees a new opportunity to pursue his passion through GRID Alternatives. “One of the construction team installing my solar system mentioned that there are workforce opportunities for veterans,” he says. “I’m going to apply, I’d love to be a part of the team.”

The impetus to get his own solar panels installed intensified for Mr. Fullmer last summer, when the heat made his dog Eeyore sick. “We couldn’t afford to run the AC but I needed to make sure he’s comfortable this year,” Mr. Fullmer says.

Mr. Fullmer is a deeply compassionate man and Eeyore is a poignant example of this. “He was tied up outside and abandoned,” says Mr. Fullmer. “I didn’t understand how anyone could do that, so I rescued him and brought him home.” Eeyore is happy now, healthy and handsome he enthusiastically greets anyone who enters his domain.

Before having his solar system installed, Mr. Fullmer was already acutely aware of his energy consumption. “If my wife leaves a light on for more than 30 seconds and she is out of the room I am right there turning it off!” he says.

For Mr. Fullmer it’s not only the financial implications of wasting energy. “The way I explain it to people is that every minute the lights are on you’re burning coal and those emissions are filling some child’s lungs,” Mr. Fullmer says. “I know it sounds scary but it’s true.”

Things will be more comfortable in the Fullmer household this year both financially and temperately, it’s already a sweltering late spring day in San Diego and Mr. Fullmer says it’s getting worse. “The last few years have been unbearable in the summer, “ he says. “I have lived here for 25 years and it’s definitely heating up.”