Alumni Q&A: Nora Barr Hennings, A.B., '10, MBA '16

After graduating from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), Nora Barr Hennings wanted a job that combined her engineering background with her business skills. That brought her to the investment banking group Credit Suisse, where as a commodities sales and trading analyst she became immersed in the energy market. She stayed with Credit Suisse until 2014, when she returned to Harvard to pursue an MBA from Harvard Business School.

“What I found that I really liked was the impact that energy had on the day-to-day lives of everybody,” said Hennings, A.B. '10, MBA '16. “In the U.S., if we flip on our light switch and the light doesn’t turn on, that’s a big impact on somebody’s daily life. In other parts of the world there is energy poverty, where students can’t study after the sun goes down because they don’t have electricity. Industries function based on the energy industry. I found that really fascinating, but I also quickly realized that the energy industry was at a transition point.”

That transition was from fossil fuels like crude oil and natural gas to solar power and other renewable energy sources. Hennings, who’d studied biomedical engineering at SEAS, wanted to help facilitate that transition, so as an MBA in 2015 she joined NextEra Energy Resources as a summer associate in San Francisco. She worked full-time at NextEra after graduating, and took on multiple roles and projects, including developing strategies for future renewable markets, negotiating new technology commercializations and partnerships in that space, and kickstarting projects all over the nation.

A California native, Hennings has spent the last five years at Sunrun Inc. in San Francisco, the largest residential solar and battery storage company in the U.S. She developed and negotiated large strategic partnerships with companies such as Ford Motor Company and their F-150 Lightning electric truck, and then a year ago took on the role of Head of Fleet & Facilities. She recently shared her insights into the current renewable energy market, as well as its increasing importance for the future.

Is it satisfying to be part of this transition to a more renewable energy grid?

I love the fact that I feel like my work every day has an impact on the transformation of the industry, and also on society. It’s a transition to renewables, but it’s also about resiliency. At Sunrun, we offer both solar power and battery storage. I have a system in my home, and when the power goes out, I don’t even notice. The impact that’s had on my family has been huge. When we look across the country, storms are increasing. Hurricanes, tornadoes and blizzards directly impact the power grid, and therefore directly impact people’s day-to-day lives. There is also the impact of the energy industry on other big industries, such as AI and data centers. The U.S. must have enough generation and infrastructure needed to support our development of those industries over the coming years and decades if we expect to maintain our global leadership. That my work has an impact on our country’s leadership in these growing industries is really exciting. 

Why do we need renewable energy?

When I think about the resiliency and infrastructure needs that we need as a country, regardless of what you think about clean energy, we need this power. Wind and solar, particularly residential solar, are the only generation sources that can come online fast enough to meet the needs of the growing AI industry. Even if we wanted to transition back to 100% coal, oil, gas and nuclear, you couldn’t make those power plants fast enough to meet the needs of this growing capacity for AI.

What are some misconceptions people have about solar power?

One of the things that we hear is that manufacturing batteries and solar panels negate the environmental benefits of having them. If you look at Sunrun’s sustainability reports, the benefits in terms of emissions is over 18 times the CO₂ emitted to deploy the systems. 

The other misconception that often comes up is around the renewable energy industry getting handouts in the form of tax credits. When you look at the economic value created, it’s really much more of an investment. The incentives drive American manufacturing and job creation, affordable energy bills, and empowering families with energy choice, not to mention the infrastructure needed to maintain global leadership in industries like AI.

What brought you to SEAS?

It’s kind of hard to say no to Harvard, but for me, I really wanted to get the experience of living on the East Coast. I got to experience the cultural differences, the weather differences, meet lots of interesting people from around the world, and really gain some independence from my parents. I loved math and science in high school, so I knew engineering was an option, but I definitely spent a lot of time pouring over all the various concentration options, and then I spent a decent amount of time thinking about the individual classes I wanted to take, like an introduction to computer science class. When I put together all of the classes I wanted to take, it fit into the engineering degree.

Do you still draw on elements of your Harvard education?

While I was at Harvard, I had to be very clear in my communication, whether it was writing papers or my in-person interactions with professors. Nobody let me get away with poor communication at Harvard. If there’s anything I can emphasize to students, it’s to practice how you communicate, because in the real world, clear communication is key. 

The other big skill I draw on frequently is my ability to break down a problem in order to find a solution.  I don’t remember every lesson from my courses at Harvard, but I do remember learning how to figure things out. From my first semester as a freshman and throughout my entire degree, I had to be able to translate real-world problems into mathematical principles, then use those principles to solve those problems. Still today, when I sit down and look at a problem, I start with the underlying functions associated with it, then distill it into simplified pieces to solve. That’s very much a skillset I learned in my courses and refined throughout my time at Harvard.