A county seeks a way to cheaply transition its diesel fleet to 100 percent battery electric buses. A university wants to meet its sustainability goals by using renewable, locally generated electricity. A fruit supply and distribution company needs to know it can keep operating even if the power grid goes down due to a natural disaster. For these and many other kinds of energy issues, the startup company co- founded by Ryan Goodman ’01 has the answer. It’s called Scale Microgrid Solutions, and it is promoting energy efficiency and resiliency to clients from New Jersey, where it is headquartered, to California and many places in-between.
As Ryan explains, a microgrid is an on-site energy system that integrates several distributed energy technologies, enabling an organization—or even a municipality—to efficiently supplement the utility grid or to function autonomously if the grid goes out. The result? Cost-effective energy independence and stability.
As the company’s CEO, Ryan has been putting his energy into Scale since its founding 2016. With an electrical engineering degree from Bucknell University, Ryan began his career at General Electric. He later joined, helped to grow, and ultimately sold his own firm to Centrica PLC in 2016 before launching Scale. Despite his decade of experience in the energy industry, he knew it would be a challenge.
“In the life cycle of a start up, the first couple of years are hard, a grind, and less fun.” Ryan says. “But we’re now at the more fun stage in growth, starting to hit new numbers with hiring and operating a portfolio of energy assets to help solve climate change. It’s the best stage for the company to be in.”
Another fun part for Ryan is working with a classmate from D-E, Tim Hade ’01, a fellow co- founder and the company’s COO. The third co- founder is Ryan’s dad, Howard Goodman. Ryan says, “Tim Hade was a natural person to work with. He was always on the cutting edge, thinking about where the market was going.” He notes, “The friendships I’ve formed are still instrumental in where I am today,”
Ryan’s connections to D-E run deep. An avid athlete, he says Coach Christian “Schmiddy” Schmid was among those who had a big impact, and he was thrilled to attend the groundbreaking ceremony for the Schmid Athletic Complex on Solomon Field at Reunion in June. Even closer to home and heart, he shares three children with his wife, Anne Cole Goodman ’02, whom he first met in the nurse’s office during his sophomore year, though they didn’t date until after D-E. (Meanwhile, Anne was previously a D-E Middle School history teacher.
Ryan looks forward to the continued growth of his company and is glad to be creating positive change in the energy market. If the Texas power crisis of February 2021 and the strategic blackouts and near- collapse of the power grid in California this past summer teach us anything, it’s that Ryan is paving the way to a better energy future.
