Scott Pelley and Solar Industry Veteran Jared Schoch to Take the Stage Together at RE+ 2026

Wide-ranging conversation will explore 20 years of change in solar energy, the future of the industry and the leadership lessons behind Schoch's new book, SOLAR COASTER: The Untold Story of the Solar Industry and One Man's Journey Leading with Soul

LAS VEGAS, Sept. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Award-winning journalist Scott Pelley and solar energy executive and entrepreneur Jared Schoch will take the stage in Las Vegas at RE+ 2026, North America's largest clean energy event, on November 17 for a wide-ranging conversation about the past, present and future of the U.S. solar industry and what two decades of extraordinary growth, disruption and reinvention can teach the leaders building its next chapter.

The session, "20 Years of Riding the Solar Coaster: The Past, Present and Future of an Industry in a Constant State of Change," will bring together Pelley, the longtime 60 Minutes correspondent and former anchor and managing editor of the CBS Evening News, and Schoch, founder and chairman of TurningPoint Energy, a national solar development company that builds community and utility-scale solar projects across the United States.

The conversation comes as solar has moved from an emerging, often underestimated technology to a major force in the U.S. energy system. Few executives have experienced that transformation as directly as Schoch. During more than two decades in energy infrastructure, he has managed more than 3 gigawatts of projects representing over $5 billion in solar and energy efficiency investments. His career has included leadership roles at Johnson Controls, SunEdison and SOLON Corporation before he founded TurningPoint Energy in 2014.

Drawing from those experiences and his new book, SOLAR COASTER: The Untold Story of the Solar Industry and One Man's Journey Leading with Soul (Regalo Press; Nov 10, 2026), Schoch will take the RE+ audience behind the headlines to examine what it actually takes to build, finance and lead businesses in an industry shaped by constant policy changes, financing challenges, grid interconnection bottlenecks and rapidly shifting market conditions.

Pelley will guide the discussion, bringing the perspective of a journalist who has spent four decades covering many of the defining events and leaders of our time. During nearly 25 years with 60 Minutes, Pelley reported from the battlefields of Ukraine, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan and conducted interviews with presidents, world leaders and other major figures. He previously anchored and served as managing editor of the CBS Evening News from 2011 to 2017 and has received 51 Emmy Awards, four duPont-Columbia Awards and three George Foster Peabody Awards.

The conversation will also explore the more personal story behind Schoch's career: how faith, purpose and what he calls "soul-driven leadership" have shaped the way he he leads and built company, leads people and defines success. Schoch's experiences, including a deeply personal four-month sabbatical that became a turning point in his life and career, helped shape his approach to starting, building, scaling, running and eventually stepping back from TurningPoint Energy.

At the heart of that philosophy is Schoch's belief that long-term success comes from aligning business decisions with a deeper sense of purpose. SOLAR COASTER combines the inside story of the modern solar industry with lessons about resilience, decision-making and the role of an internal moral compass in navigating uncertainty.

SOLAR COASTER will be published by Regalo Press on November 10, 2026, one week before the RE+ conversation.

SOURCE Regalo Press