Rising Star: Leslie Chang, Caelux

Solar Power World is proud to present the inaugural SPW Rising Stars. These solar industry workers are improving the industry and inspiring others to join the green workforce. Read all of our Rising Star profiles here.

Leslie Chang currently drives all federal, state and local policy engagement for U.S. perovskite manufacturer Caelux. Chang’s background includes conducting fieldwork in the UK, China and East Africa, as well as working with multinational organizations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, World Bank, ministries of health and local non-profits.

What accomplishments are you most proud of so far in your career?

My goal has been, for a long time, to work on U.S. climate policy and I’m incredibly proud of the decisions I made that got me to today. This includes the various part-time, barely paid or stipended gigs that I started taking on as soon as I turned 18 —partially because I needed to make money but also because I was curious about what avenues would lead to the greatest impact. So I became very deliberate about selecting experiences that helped me better understand how to effect change. Often, this meant embracing a non-linear career pathway: I would take on a well-paid research position, then cross Los Angeles by bus to volunteer at a non-profit. I had a brief stint making good money in the corporate world, then forsake that to go to graduate school. I left the United States altogether and moved to Nairobi after putting down roots in the Bay Area.

Each experience brought me closer to the realization that I needed to work directly with the state to achieve net zero emissions within my lifetime. During the last three and half years at Caelux, I’ve worked directly on big legislative packages, such as the Inflation Reduction Act. I’ve built strong relationships with federal stakeholders to ensure that my unique perspective on economic development can influence policy development, and I’ve been recognized for my workforce development strategy. This is exactly the kind of work that I wanted to do when I started my career.

What’s a lesson you learned the hard way in this industry?

Just because everyone agrees on the importance of decarbonization doesn’t mean everyone will agree on the solutions. I think about how California is often at the forefront of EV and clean air legislation, but how difficult it’s been trying to start a pilot manufacturing fab here, and how eager red states are to attract our business. Private investment flows readily to new technologies such as direct air capture and hydrogen rather than financing projects for existing energy solutions, even though these companies are years from generating revenue and we could easily deploy solar and wind now.

There won’t be a technology panacea for climate change, which means consensus building, coalition work, and private-public partnerships are critical vehicles to focus on in the short-term. It emphasizes again the importance of the federal government and having strong industrial policy so that all states, regions and cities can develop resilient infrastructure. But in the meantime, it means I spend a lot of time trying to address these contradictions. 

Who or what has had a major influence on your work in the renewable energy field?

My approach is equally grounded in human-centered design and intersectionality. Because of my academic background and experience working in global health and global development, I’m most inclined to draw from economics, sociology and philosophy when thinking about policy solutions to climate change.

Popular, modern authors I admire include Kate Raworth (Doughnut Economics), Ha-Joon Chang (Kicking Away the Ladder), Naomi Klein (Shock Doctrine), Joseph Stiglitz (Measuring What Counts), and Amartya Sen (Development as Freedom). Works that have multiple authors include The Leap Manifesto and Combahee River Collective. I also credit Martin Weizman and William Nordhaus for informing my understanding of green accounting and proposing new models for measuring economic welfare.

What’s a Big Idea you have about the renewable energy transition?

Chang examines Caelux’s perovskite technology.

We don’t have time to wait for the promise of future innovations to solve current challenges, challenges that will increase exponentially before technology readiness is where it needs to be.

All the solutions we need to fully transition to renewable energy are already here —what’s missing are stakeholder conversations to develop and build buy-in for transition plans across states, regions and cities. As someone who’s worked both in the private and public sectors, nonprofits are best positioned to convene a cross-section of renewable energy stakeholders to start these conversations. The private sector is best positioned to provide the technology and technical expertise for scaling, but need support from community organizations and developers to guarantee offtake and set up projects. Local government, with institutional knowledge and insight into who operates on the ground and where, can help facilitate some connections to build up those necessary private-public partnerships. Municipalities, in particular, can pilot grid transition and share out lessons learned for scaling projects across the country.

I mentioned earlier that there won’t be a panacea for climate change. In the absence of One Perfect Solution, we need more dialogue across and within sectors to develop actionable plans for a coalition to implement.

Why should young people consider careers in the solar space?

Chang attends the 35th NAACP Pasadena Ruby McKnight Williams Awards Dinner where Caelux was recognized with the Corporate Award.

Young people should enter the solar industry precisely because these are careers — not just jobs. This is a unique industry that provides opportunities to individuals regardless of what kind of degree they want to get and what type of work they’re interested in. I’m a big believer in learning on the job rather than learning in the classroom, and there are as many clear pathways for those with a high school diploma as a PhD graduate, well-paying jobs that provide time off and healthcare. Solar is inclusive of manufacturing, quality assurance, engineering, research and development, supply chain, sales, programming and automation, finance, marketing, policy, DEI and community organizing, and these are some of the functions at Caelux, which is only a small start-up!

It is interesting, meaningful work where you will meet interesting, meaningful people. Every day I know that I’m making a difference, and that’s a really beautiful sentiment.

Are there any companies or organizations that have especially helped to foster your career in solar?

Every day I continue to be impressed by my team at Caelux, for their dedication to advancing breakthrough solar technologies, and I am immensely grateful to the NAACP, K&L Gates, SEMA Coalition, Advanced Energy United and SEIA for their thought leadership and organizing efforts to win critical solar legislation.