When Your Wife Wants a Cold Drink
What if the most innovative renewable energy products don’t come from R&D labs or engineering firms, but from someone solving their own frustrating problem? In this visionary episode of The Solar Coaster, Anthony Baro—founder of E2Sol and inventor of the award-winning Power Docks system—reveals how his quest to give his wife Kelly a cold drink on their sailboat led to creating floating solar microgrids that are transforming marinas, defense operations, and aquaculture worldwide.
Anthony’s journey from defense contractor to renewable energy innovator demonstrates that the best solutions often emerge when you’re trying to solve a real need—and have the audacity to create what doesn’t yet exist.
From Defense Contractor to Environmentalist
Anthony’s solar journey began with a career crisis and an awakening conscience:
“About fifteen years ago or so, I was working for a large defense contractor, and I was working almost twenty four over seven in a very senior position and I asked myself, do I really want to continue to do this the rest of my life?”
The Environmental Awakening
“At the time I was really developing a niche interest for being an environmentalist.”
This combination—burnout from intense defense work plus growing environmental values—created the conditions for transformation.
The Decision to Pivot
“I decided to study about how to become a developer and learn the solar business. And so that’s really what I ended up doing first to try to get into the renewable energy business.”
Fifteen years ago, solar wasn’t the established industry it is today. Anthony was making a significant leap from defense contracting (stable, high-paying, established) to renewable energy (emerging, uncertain, requiring new expertise).
Not Your Average Solar Company
When I noted that E2Sol isn’t a typical solar company, Anthony explained their unique positioning:
“We’re not your traditional solar installer or engineering EPC firm. We have a unique eye for innovating. Pretty much every project that we develop for our customer is unique in a certain way because it’s really tailored to satisfy their energy needs, their financial pain point needs.”
The Innovation Focus
“As far as trying to innovate solutions, which is what we do, we also come up with our ideas for products or future products where we see the uses.”
This is fundamentally different from most solar companies that:
- Install standardized systems
- Focus on residential or commercial rooftops
- Use existing products and technologies
- Compete primarily on price or service
E2Sol invents new products where they see unmet needs—then spins those innovations into separate businesses.
The Power Docks Origin Story
Anthony’s most successful innovation emerged from personal frustration:
“We noticed the same transition that is happening in the automotive industry where we’re transitioning from fossil to electric—it’s happening in the marine field. Pleasure boats are transforming into electric boats, jet skis, pleasure crafts are going electric as well. And as of late there are case studies already proven of large mega yachts, one hundred to two hundred feet, fully electric.”
The Marina Infrastructure Challenge
“When you look at the marina infrastructure that has all these boats, the marinas have to maintain customer base at their site. Customers are going to be coming into the marina with electric cars. They’re going to park, then they’re going to go on their boats—by the way, it’s going to be electric eventually.”
The Electricity Demand Crisis
“So the marinas are going to have the need, the pent up demand for electricity. And so we saw a niche in that.”
The Personal Need
“We are a sailboat family over here. And when we go to our boat, my wife Kelly always told me that she never has a cold drink because I never leave the batteries running, because otherwise we won’t be able to get off the mooring.”
The Innovation Moment
“So I said, I gotta do something about that. And out of that, out of our own need, I basically took a look at traditional marina floating dock and we developed that floating dock as a solar floating power microgrid.”
What Power Docks Actually Are
Anthony’s solution is elegantly comprehensive:
“It’s a structure that is not only a docking facility for a vessel, whether it’s in the open water or at a marina, but it allows you to walk over solar. It generates power. And then below the deck, you have energy storage. So it stores the energy.”
The Floating Microgrid
“So it’s a completely floating power microgrid that you can have in the middle of the bay—electricity.”
Think about this: a dock that:
- Functions as a normal docking facility
- Generates solar power on the surface you walk on
- Stores energy in batteries below deck
- Provides electricity in open water, miles from shore
- Requires no grid connection
The EV Charging Station Parallel
“And then we said, okay, well, that leaves the room for installing charging stations for recharging smaller pleasure boats in the middle of the water. So it’s like an electric vehicle charging station in the open water bay.”
This isn’t just clever—it’s solving a problem that will become critical as marine electrification accelerates.
Award-Winning Innovation
Power Docks didn’t just solve Anthony’s problem—it won recognition internationally:
“So we took that to several innovation competitions and industry exhibitions like the Miami International Boat Show and the Electric and Hybrid Marine World Expo in the Netherlands. And right out of the bat, we won Innovation Awards here in the US as well as in Europe.”
The Market Validation
“And then of course, with all the customer flow after that, we saw the market growth, and we ended up spinning that innovation into its own separate company, which is called Power Docks.”
This progression—personal need → invention → competition validation → commercial interest → separate company—demonstrates how real innovation creates markets.
Beyond Recreation: Defense and Aquaculture
The applications expanded far beyond pleasure boats:
“From the recreational side, we have gotten into defense industry. We have gotten into aquaculture farming because there’s no renewable energy floating power in the area. So it really has opened up the horizon in what we’re doing in the marine field.”
Defense Applications
Military and defense operations often occur in remote coastal or island locations where traditional power infrastructure doesn’t exist. Floating microgrids provide:
- Power for communications equipment
- Energy for temporary bases
- Off-grid capabilities for security operations
- Deployable power in strategic locations
Aquaculture Opportunities
Fish farms and aquaculture operations face unique challenges:
- Located in open water, far from shore
- Need continuous power for aeration, feeding systems, monitoring
- High energy costs from diesel generators
- Environmental pressure to reduce emissions
Power Docks solve all these problems with renewable, on-site power generation and storage.
The Cargo Box Microgrid
Anthony’s innovation pipeline doesn’t stop with floating docks. His team identified another unmet need:
“We have another innovation where we actually are converting a vehicle cargo box into a movable powered microgrid.”
The Commuter Problem
“A lot of customers travel to work for about forty-five minutes. They park their cars for eight hours. They work inside a building. When it’s time to go home, all that energy during the day could be stored on a cargo box on top of the car.”
The Apartment Dweller Solution
“So that when they go back to their apartment, because they do not own a residence, they’re able to plug in directly to the grid—on the car.”
The Concept
“So basically the car is parked outside in the parking lot with the solar panel on top in a cargo box. You see these cars that are traveling with cargo boxes that have clothing and things. We’re just taking that cargo box, and we’re transforming it into a movable microgrid that you can use as vehicle-to-grid or vehicle-to-home consumption.”
This addresses a real barrier to EV adoption: apartment and condo dwellers who can’t install home charging. The cargo box becomes their portable solar generator.
Transforming Highway Medians into Utilities
Perhaps Anthony’s most ambitious innovation targets highway infrastructure:
“The latest one is—you take a look at a median on your main highway. The federal government is giving a lot of money to the states for installing electric infrastructure along the highway. But where is all that power coming from to recharge the vehicles?”
The Solution
“So we have actually developed a product that would be installed in the median of the highway on the barrier. And we’re transforming the median into a utility.”
The Vision
“So that’s the electrification of the highway system.”
I noted that Europe has done something similar with the Autobahn, and Anthony confirmed awareness of those use cases—but his approach transforms unused median space into renewable energy generation, not just charging points connected to the grid.
Think about the scale: thousands of miles of highway medians across America, all generating solar power and providing charging infrastructure for the EV transition.
The Creative Process
I asked Anthony about how he identifies needs and creates solutions:
“It all starts with a need for a product or a service. So our ducks started with my need to have power in the middle of the harbor on a mooring without using a generator. That’s how Power Docks started.”
The Innovation Cycle
- Identify a real need (cold drinks on the boat, apartment EV charging, highway infrastructure)
- Envision a solution that doesn’t currently exist
- Develop and test the product
- Validate through competitions and exhibitions
- Scale based on market response
- Spin into separate business when successful
This isn’t innovation for innovation’s sake—it’s solving real problems that create immediate market demand.
Key Takeaways from Anthony’s Innovation Approach
1. Personal needs drive authentic innovation. The best products solve problems you’ve personally experienced.
2. Marine electrification is happening now. Mega yachts are already going fully electric—infrastructure must follow.
3. Marinas face a looming crisis. Electric boats + electric cars = massive electricity demand with no current solution.
4. Floating microgrids solve unique problems. Open water power needs can’t be addressed with traditional solar.
5. One innovation opens multiple markets. Power Docks went from recreation to defense to aquaculture.
6. Apartment dwellers need EV solutions. Cargo box microgrids address a real adoption barrier.
7. Highway medians are untapped solar real estate. Thousands of miles of unused space could become utilities.
8. Tailored solutions beat standardization. E2Sol’s custom approach creates unique value for each client.
9. Awards validate and accelerate. Innovation competition wins created customer flow and market credibility.
10. Spin-offs enable focus. Successful innovations deserve their own dedicated companies.
Why This Episode Matters
Anthony Baro represents a different breed of solar entrepreneur—not just installing existing technology, but inventing new applications where renewable energy hasn’t yet reached.
His journey from defense contractor to environmental inventor demonstrates that career pivots are possible with commitment to learning and willingness to solve real problems.
For the solar industry, Anthony’s innovations reveal untapped markets: marine electrification, mobile microgrids, highway infrastructure. These aren’t incremental improvements—they’re entirely new categories of renewable energy application.
For entrepreneurs, Anthony’s approach offers a proven methodology: find genuine needs, create solutions that don’t exist, validate through competition and customer response, then scale what works.
And for anyone frustrated by a problem—whether it’s warm drinks on a sailboat or apartment EV charging—Anthony’s story proves that innovation often starts with someone saying: “I’m going to figure this out.”
Listen to the Full Episode
Ready to hear Anthony’s complete vision? Listen to this innovative episode of The Solar Coaster:
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- Website: E2Sol
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About The Solar Coaster Podcast
The Solar Coaster is a podcast that takes you on the wild ride through the solar industry, told by the people who live it every day. Hosted by Anna Covert—author, digital marketing expert, and founder of Covert Communication—each episode features candid conversations with solar professionals sharing their journeys, challenges, and victories.
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