40 Under 40 Spotlight: Olivia Amyette, CS 20
By: Sharita Hanley | Categories: Alumni Interest
Since 2010, the solar industry has experienced exponential growth, and Olivia Maria Am-yette, CS 20, is at the heart of that impact. In the U.S., there are now 262 gigawatts direct-current of solar capacity installed. That’s enough energy to power 45 million homes, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association.
Amyette launched her company, Infinite Energy Advisors, which designs, sells, and installs custom solar systems, in 2020, when she was just 20 years old. Unlike most startups, which often fail within the first five years, the company was profitable in its first year. And Amyette has grown her company past the
$1 million annual revenue mark.
She launched a second business, the Solar Knowledge Institute (SKI), which has Georgia’s first Department of Labor–certified and registered apprenticeship program in the state’s solar industry. “My team and I realized that there was not a lot of training for solar workers, and our claim-to-fame was that we were willing to go into ambiguous situations with abandoned solar systems to help people.” Amyette packaged her company’s training program into a formal curriculum and launched SKI.
More than 280,000 Americans work in solar nationwide, according to the Interstate Renewable Energy Council. SKI’s mission is to make sure individuals are properly trained. More than 20 apprentices have completed the program, and its influence has reached far beyond Georgia. “We’re having conversations with South Africa, Uganda, Lesotho—so many places,” she says. “Because energy should be accessible and equitable for all.”
Amyette’s work is inspired by her grandfather, an Ecuadorian immigrant and Vietnam War veteran who taught himself English by candlelight because he couldn’t afford electricity. When Amyette graduated, she turned down job offers to care for her aging grandfather and build Infinite Energy Advisors. The company’s mission honors his resilience.
“Without a shadow of a doubt, Tech equipped me to have this entrepreneurial spirit, especially being a part of the Grand Challenges Living Learning Community. We had to identify a challenge and come up with a solution to solve it. It was so much fun, but also high-stress in a productive way.”
That problem-solving mindset continues to drive her work. “My vision is to create a more equitable world through something as seemingly simple as energy.”
