SOLAR COASTER

The Untold Story of the Solar Industry
One Man's Journey Leading with Soul
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by Clean Energy Executive, Jared Schoch
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Reframes Business Success as a Matter of Purpose, Not Just Profit

A rare insider account of the U.S. solar industry pairs hard-earned business lessons with a deeper call to soul-driven leadership

FAIRFAX STATION, Va., Nov. 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- In a moment when the clean energy transition is accelerating but execution remains complex, Jared Schoch, founder and chairman of TurningPoint Energy, offers a grounded, operator's view of what it actually takes to build enduring businesses in SOLAR COASTER : The Untold Story of the Solar Industry One Man's Journey Leading with Soul (Regalo Press; November 10, 2026).

Drawing on more than two decades in energy infrastructure and over $5 billion in solar and efficiency investments, Schoch delivers a candid account of leadership, failure, resilience, and decision-making inside one of the most interesting industries in the U.S. economy. The book moves beyond headlines about renewable energy growth to examine what Schoch calls the "Solar Coaster" - the constant cycles of risk, uncertainty, and reinvention that define the industry.

More than a book, SOLAR COASTER is the starting point of a broader project aimed at inspiring leaders to build a more meaningful, purposeful, cleaner, and safer world by leading with what Schoch calls a "soul-based" approach.

Schoch has spent his career building businesses and leading teams across high-tech, energy infrastructure, and renewable power, making high-stakes decisions about where to invest, when to take risks, and how to navigate constant change. Over time, he found that the most important decisions in business are not financial, but judgment calls guided by an internal compass that shapes how leaders operate and the value they create. That perspective, developed through years of experience, reflection, and real-world challenges, is at the core of SOLAR COASTER. While the book traces the rise of the U.S. solar industry, it also explores how leaders make real life decisions under pressure and what happens when those decisions are consistently aligned with a deeper sense of purpose.

Schoch pulls back the curtain on what insiders call the "Solar Coaster," an industry defined by extreme volatility and constant policy shifts, which he has navigated firsthand building and financing projects across the country. Over the past two decades, he has operated through the industry's most turbulent cycles, from early market uncertainty to rapid expansion and repeated policy-driven disruptions, experiences he recounts through the rise of companies like SunEdison and the creation of his own firm. Solar has evolved from a marginal, underdog energy source into a dominant force, but as Schoch shows, that growth has been anything but linear.

He details how sudden regulatory changes, financing breakdowns, grid interconnection bottlenecks, and shifting federal, state, and local priorities can reshape entire projects overnight. As he describes it, building TurningPoint Energy has required far more than identifying opportunity. It has meant repeatedly adapting to an unpredictable system where success depends on execution, resilience, and the ability to make critical decisions in environments that are often uncertain.

At its core, SOLAR COASTER is a business book grounded in lived experience, with Schoch tracing his journey from the high-tech boom of the 1990s through the rise of the solar industry to offer practical insights for leaders navigating fast-changing markets. He argues that long-term success is driven by purpose rather than profit, with profit emerging from creating real value, and emphasizes that execution, not just identifying opportunity, is the true differentiator in complex industries where financing, policy, interconnection, and operational realities determine outcomes.

Central to Schoch's story is the idea of soul-based leadership and developing an internal moral compass that guides decision-making in business and life. Schoch describes this as choosing a purpose-driven path, trusting something larger than oneself, and building a life grounded in service, resilience, and long-term impact.

"Like a muscle, the soul must be exercised, strengthened, utilized and focused. The more you use it and the stronger it becomes, the more likely you are to make the right decisions," writes Schoch. "It's the hard decisions made each week, month, quarter and year that determine if your business makes the right 'purpose driven good choice' versus those choices that send us down the wrong path. Those choices determine the ultimate success or failure of a business."

What sets SOLAR COASTER apart is its direct and practical exploration of how faith, purpose, and personal conviction shape real business and personal life decisions. Schoch argues that the most important choices leaders make are not driven by data or strategy alone, but by an internal compass that determines how they lead, how they treat people, what kind of value they ultimately create and what kind of life they live. Rather than separating faith from business, he shows how a strong sense of purpose can lead to clearer thinking, more disciplined decision-making, and better long-term outcomes in complex environments.

Throughout the book, Schoch frames work as a form of spiritual service, emphasizing that building a company is not just about personal success, but about contributing to something larger than any one individual. He draws on his own experience navigating volatility, setbacks, and inflection points to show how purpose provides resilience and direction when conditions are uncertain. That perspective extends beyond the page, with a commitment to giving back through support for spiritual growth, climate initiatives, education, and homelessness.

About the Author
Jared Schoch is the founder and chairman of TurningPoint Energy, a national solar development company focused on building community and utility-scale solar power plants across the United States while investing in the communities it serves. He served as president of the company from 2014 to 2023, leading a team of veteran solar executives developing large-scale solar and clean technology power plants, advising utilities and corporate clients, and investing in differentiated clean energy opportunities.

Over the course of his career, Schoch has managed more than 3 gigawatts of projects representing over $5 billion in solar and energy efficiency investments and millions in combined personal and company lead charitable investments in the communities he has worked and lived. His work spans partnerships with utilities, school districts, cities, counties, hospitals, federal agencies, and industrial clients nationwide, giving him a broad, operator-level view of the U.S. energy system.

Before founding TurningPoint Energy, he served as vice president and general manager of the U.S. power plants business at SOLON Corporation, where he helped expand and reposition the business for long-term profitability. Prior to that, he spent nearly five years building and scaling SunEdison's U.S. utility-scale solar development platform. Earlier in his career, he held leadership roles in energy efficiency business development at Johnson Controls and worked as a marketing consultant in the high-tech sector.

Rooted in faith and guided by resilience, Jared's journey blends business insight with spiritual growth. He has served on the Board of Directors at TurningPoint Energy, the Board of Trustees at Loyola University New Orleans, the Board of Denver Urban Scholars and the Pastor's Advisory Council for St. Clare's Catholic Parish and remains engaged in questions of theology, philosophy, and spiritual life.

Jared lives in the Vail Valley, Colorado with his wife and two daughters and enjoys hiking, skiing, and traveling.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Loyola University New Orleans and a Master of Business Administration from the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver.

https://solarcoasterproject.com/

Book Details
Title: Solar Coaster: The Untold Story of the Solar Industry One Man's Journey Leading with Soul
Author: Jared Schoch
Publisher: Regalo Press
Publication Date: November 10, 2026
Format: Hardcover | 272 pages | ISBN: 979-8895657256

SOURCE Regalo Press