How Robert Tweed Has Turned Renewable Energy into a Means to Give Back
Robert Tweed is a financial professional, entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist. He has taken the time to invest in his community, including offering an annual scholarship to deserving students in the fields of finance and economics. His scholarship makes education more accessible to high school and college-aged students.
Tweed grew up in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. He comes from a family which has been involved with financial services for generations. His family ran two different insurance companies in Canada. When it came time to relax, Tweed loved spending time with his family’s horses. He became a skilled rider and competed at a high level.
His entrepreneurial skills were honed at a young age. He began a snow removal company while he was in high school, and he learned the value of hard work and the power of creating a business. As he matured, he put his talents to work starting a number of different financial service companies. His businesses have become important parts of their community.
Robert Tweed believes that integrating social and environmental responsibility is uniquely important today. Anyone with the means to help should do their part by supporting local charitable initiatives. If people do not have funds to donate, they can consider donating goods or time to their favorite charities.
In keeping with his personal beliefs, Tweed is the driving force behind the Rusty Tweed Solar energy project at the Kukui Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. Founded in 2009, the Center provides a central clearinghouse for various community initiatives that benefit disadvantaged and distressed residents of Hawaii.
The Honolulu community comes together to donate time, material goods, and business sponsorships to the Kukui Center. Family Promise of Hawaii, a homeless shelter for children and families, is included within the Kukui Center. Family Promise includes an overnight shelter as well as a day center for these families where they can access many different community initiatives. The Kukui Center also includes affordable daycare. The entire family can benefit from the programs at the Kukui Center.
The Kukui Solar Project is intended to create environmentally friendly energy above and beyond what is produced by the local electric utility, HECO. The project includes energy produced at the Kukui Center building as well as panels owned by supporting homeowners in the area. In sets of 365, the panels are rated to provide 93.4 kW of electricity. This project saves the Kukui Center a great deal of money by providing all of its electrical power needs. The Kukui Center can then use its donations to directly benefit the people of Hawaii.
Supporting homeowners also benefit from the project and are able to sell their excess electricity back to the local provider. Since the project is located in Hawaii, there is abundant sunshine to generate power. It is not necessary to live in a tropical area to benefit from solar energy. Solar projects are ongoing in every state and province. Cities and towns, as well as energy companies, have built these projects to enhance the environmental friendliness of their communities.
Solar energy projects like Rusty Tweed Solar are spreading all over the United States and Canada. Rusty Tweed Solar provides an important example to business owners and executives. When more business owners reach out to their community and help with important initiatives, everyone benefits.
Supplementing fossil fuels with clean renewable energy, such as solar and wind power, is an important initiative. With little to no environmental impact, solar and wind energy can power a new generation of residential and commercial buildings. Tweed believes that the business world needs to transition away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy sources. Rusty Tweed Solar is showing the way toward a more sustainable world.
When businesses reach out to community organizations, they can have the satisfaction of doing lasting good in the world. Investing some of their profits in deserving