Abigail Ross Hopper, president and chief executive officer of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) announced her departure from the organization effective January 30, 2026 after a nine-year tenure.
During Ross Hopper’s time as SEIA president and CEO, the industry grew from 36 GW installed capacity to over 255 GW installed, with annual investment increasing from $16 billion to $70 billion. Solar manufacturing also underwent a boom, with the United States increasing from 14th to 3rd globally, said SEIA.
Hopper shared her thoughts in a letter to the industry:
Leading SEIA and serving this community has been one of the great honors of my professional life. But I feel that now is the time for my next chapter. As I think back on the adventure we’ve been on together over the last nine years, it’s difficult to put into words what this work, and all of you, have meant to me, personally and professionally. When I came to SEIA in 2017, we were an emerging industry with incredible potential. Today, we are a cornerstone of America’s energy economy, an economic engine, a beacon of technology and innovation, and an industry with limitless potential for growth.
In addition to the unprecedented market growth and clean energy deployment, Ross Hopper gave special thanks to initiatives like Solar Sisters, the creation of the Solar and Storage Industries Institute, SEIA’s expansion into storage advocacy, partnerships like Solar Uncommon Dialogue, and the establishment of industry standards.
(Read: “SEIA unveils policy agenda to expand US solar, storage and grid reforms“)
SEIA’s board of directors is now beginning an executive search process, said a press statement from the trade organization.
“Under Abby’s leadership, the U.S. solar industry has experienced over 600% growth and emerged as an economic juggernaut that is the leading source of new power in this country. I am confident that, because of Abby’s steady hand, SEIA and our industry have the foundation for continued success in the years to come,” said Darren Van’t Hof, chair of SEIA’s board of directors.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment.
Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website. Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so.
You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future, in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately. Otherwise, your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose of data storage is fulfilled.
Further information on data privacy can be found in our Data Protection Policy.