Joseph “Joe” Cunningham is a co-founder and director of operations of Tempe-headquartered Sunny Energy, one of Arizona’s largest providers of residential and commercial solar energy systems.Joe is also a founding member and president of the Distributed Energy Resources Alliance (DERA), a non-profit trade organization dedicated to the development of distributed energy resources, including solar, battery storage, active demand management, distributed grid services and smart grid solutions for a reliable and sustainable energy supply. He has recently earned the solar industry’s leading recognition of installation expertise from the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP®), and is now a NABCEP Certified PV Installation Professional.An industry leader, Joe is active in photovoltaic (PV) standards development with The SunSpec Alliance as chairman of the Orange Button Construction working group. He has co-authored two white papers, through SunSpec, on PV System Performance Metrics and PV System Commissioning for Performance Guidelines. He is recipient of the SunSpec Open Standards Champion award for years of voluntary standards work.

Along with SunSpec, Joe works closely with standards working group members from the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Sandia Labs and others. Through this work he is intimately knowledgeable on the value of PV system standards and certifications.

Prior to co-founding Sunny Energy, Joe was director of operations for five years for Centrosolar, a solar energy equipment supplier. He managed operations for North American markets, overseeing logistics, system design, sourcing and purchasing, private label manufacturing and outsourcing, order fulfillment, a nationwide technical services network and online systems.

Prior to Centrosolar, Joe spent three years in the PV integration business. He managed, at various times, operations, business development, maintenance programs, sales and marketing. Prior to joining the PV industry, Joe worked for more than 20 years in wireless telecommunications and cable TV, and as an entrepreneur. He has held the positions of president, chief operating officer, vice president, and business development with various companies. He helped develop advanced wireless technology and services, as well as industry standards, government regulations, hardware and software to increase wireless spectrum use efficiencies and performance. He was instrumental in forming and managing a nationwide organization of operators and manufacturers to address equipment reliability and warranty issues. He has been recognized by the Wireless Communications Association International as a Wireless Pioneer and for outstanding contributions throughout his career.

Joe has a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from Cornell University, where he was a four-year letterman in crew. He lives with his wife, Resa, in Carefree, Ariz. and is an avid road cyclist, riding more than 5,000 miles annually. He is a past Arizona State Road Racing age-group champion.