Tim Pawlenty is the solar industry’s new Republican evangelist

Tim Pawlenty was a two-term Republican governor of Minnesota and made a run in the 2012 presidential primary, which ultimately went to Mitt Romney. Now, Pawlenty has reemerged on the national political scene as the leading evangelist for solar energy, while the industry seeks to recover from a stinging political defeat.

In June, Pawlenty took over as president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association, the largest solar-specific trade group in the U.S. He steps into the job at a uniquely turbulent moment in the industry’s history.

Solar developers had revved up to take advantage of the supportive policies in President Joe Biden’s 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, only to have Republicans win back control of D.C. in 2024 and gut the climate law in last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

“The current state is relatively bleak,” Pawlenty said of solar’s political clout in Washin...