Spotlight: Ben Haley

Strategy, Solutions, and Sun: Benjamin Haley on Evolved Energy’s San Diego Era

On a mild, sun-drenched afternoon in San Diego, golden sunlight filters through the towering windows that line the brick walls and vaulted ceilings in Evolved Energy's new open-concept office. The space hums quietly—a dynamic setting for both intellectual rigor and real-world problem-solving—which is, as Benjamin Haley will tell you, very much the point.

"We are a unique organization, blending the pragmatism of a consulting firm with the curiosity of academics and researchers." The journey to this point has been unconventional yet effective. Driven by a desire to improve upon traditional consulting methods, Haley, along with co-founder Ryan Jones, launched Evolved Energy Research. They envisioned a company that leveraged models and software to provide more efficient and insightful analysis to improve upon the standard consulting practice of building a new tool for every client problem. Now, after nearly a decade of remote work, Haley is betting on the power of in-person collaboration to navigate the turbulent waters of the energy sector.

Sitting at a sleek live-edge conference table of spalted tamarind—a furniture choice in which he takes evident pride—Haley describes the path that led here.

"It really started in grad school," Haley begins. His professor (and Evolved’s Senior Research Fellow), Jim Williams, introduced him to the world of energy. "Jim became my mentor and really got me excited about energy and the analytical challenges it presents—it was really the right size puzzle for my brain," Haley recalls.

That puzzle grew more complex as Haley moved from graduate research into the consulting world, landing an internship as an energy analyst, where he found himself thrust into problems that few were addressing—California’s push toward renewables, the water-energy nexus, and the challenges of decarbonizing the gas system.

Having met Jones along the way, Haley recalls of their experience, "we were given problems that nobody had solved yet, very early as analysts. That really developed us in a particular way. Energy planning was almost rule-of-thumb—like a slide rule for planning. But renewables upended that, turning it into much more of a math problem.”

That shift—from rules of thumb to complex modeling—would shape Haley’s career. It led him to build one of the first models exploring how SoCal Gas might fit into California’s decarbonization pathway, and to the Deep Decarbonization Pathways Project, modeling the entire U.S. energy system. Ultimately, it led Haley and Jones to a new vision for energy consulting: one built not around bespoke spreadsheets but around flexible, scalable models.

“We were building a new spreadsheet for every project. It was like scripting, not software. We wanted something better—models and data management tools flexible enough to move from a California analysis to a U.S. analysis without starting from scratch.”

That vision became Evolved. Founded remotely, the duo created tools that made energy modeling not just faster but more insightful and personal. By automating the drudgery and developing tools that allowed them to escape the cycle of reinventing the wheel, they freed themselves to focus on the real questions while working directly with clients. This also allowed them to put these sophisticated tools in the hands of their growing team, allowing them to punch far above their weight as the new kids on the block.

But after years of success in this format, something felt missing.

Building More Than Models – The San Diego Expansion

The undercurrent pervading the genesis of Evolved, and indeed its expansion to San Diego, relies on questioning the status quo. When remote work flipped to being the standard, they of course wondered if it should be.

“We were remote from the start, and it worked because we already had relationships with one another,” Haley explains. “But onboarding new people remotely? That’s tough. I don’t know how anyone’s doing it well.”

Haley himself had been restless. From Oakland to Denver to New York to Maine, he kept moving, chasing… something. “Remote work obligates you to love where you are, because you’re there all the time. And I realized I wasn’t settled.”

San Diego changed that.

“It’s an underrated city, honestly,” Haley concedes, gesturing to the view of the marina rife with historic ships. The park below the historic Globe Mills building buzzed with pedicabs and joggers; the unmistakable sound of pickleball droned behind the sound of local trolleys trundling by. The new Evolved office sits in a mixed-use complex, surrounded by bustling charm of the Little Italy neighborhood. “It’s not sterile; it’s alive. The neighborhood flips at night—quiet during the day, vibrant after dark. It’s a great place to work.”

The office itself reflects Evolved’s ethos: an industrial feel with open space and an emphasis on collaboration. The plan is to double the team—analysts, developers, communicators—with San Diego as the hub. “We’ve stayed very senior for a long time,” Haley says. “But now we have the infrastructure—the models, the data—to support newer hires. It’ll be a better experience for them than we ever had.”

More than just hiring, the office represents a cultural shift. “The most exciting times in my career were figuring things out with a team—whiteboarding, brainstorming, getting stuck and unstuck together. That’s what we’re trying to recreate here.”

The Road Ahead

The timing, Haley admits, is complicated. The energy sector is in flux—disrupted not just by renewables but by the influx of tech money and political uncertainty.

“I’m watching tech disrupt energy the way it disrupted other sectors, and those sectors got wrecked,” Haley reflects, “but energy’s different—you’re dealing with 40-year assets. If decision-making becomes an information-free environment, we’re in trouble.”

That’s where Evolved sees its role: not picking winners—“We don’t have favorites,” Haley insists—but providing clear-eyed analysis in a noisy world.

“Decarbonization needs to be resilient—economically, politically, socially. If it just looks like increased costs and no benefits, it won’t happen.”

When it comes to energy, political or policy setbacks can often be deflating. Nevertheless, “the opportunity to do it right remains. We’re still in the fight… positioning in people’s hearts and minds all the time the energy future that we want: It has to be affordable; it has to be integrated with the built environment; it has to deliver on livelihoods; it has to mitigate against increased costs; it has to not be an opportunity for cronyism and favor on the technology side which we see all over the place.”

In an era of political polarization and rapid technological change, Haley believes it's crucial to maintain a focus on fundamentals and sound analysis. He emphasizes the need to continually demonstrate the benefits of decarbonization, ensuring it is affordable, equitable, and resilient.

"If we believe that this is the way forward, we basically need to be able to continually prove it," he asserts.

Evolved's approach is to remain agnostic, analyzing all options and making decisions based on data and an accurate reflection of the reality we inhabit. Haley fears a future where the energy sector becomes an "information-free environment," driven by political agendas or technological hype.

Evolved’s future, then, is not just about scaling—it’s about influence. "We’ve always had an internal conversation—within our models, our team. Now we need to contribute more to the external conversation.” That means more thought leadership, more communication, more presence.

“We’re ready to get out there,” Haley asserts, smiling. "We’ve been modeling, and now it’s time to tell the story."

Back at the live-edge table, the conversation turns lighter, where Haley describes his most controversial opinion: his own personal biofuel, black licorice, which sustains him throughout the workday.

San Diego, it seems, suits him—and the next chapter of Evolved.

This next chapter demands not just better models but better conversations. “We can’t afford black-and-white thinking—‘this technology’s good, that technology’s bad.’ We need nuance, and that’s only possible when you have real, trustworthy analysis.”

Telling the Story

Beyond the technical work, Haley recognizes the importance of communication. He wants Evolved to be more proactive in telling its own story, sharing insights and engaging in broader conversations about the future of energy. This includes producing high-quality reports, hosting events, and building stronger relationships with clients.

"There's a whole conversation that goes on inside Evolved, and there's a conversation that Evolved participates outside of itself, and those need to meet in more ways," Haley explains. After nearly a decade of energy consulting, EER is ready to extend its internal commentary across the sector at large.

Haley is seeking to hire individuals who can contribute to both conversations: energy analysts who can ask the right questions and business development/communications professionals who can help share Evolved's insights with the world.

The San Diego office, then, is more than just a physical space—it’s a statement. “We’re saying, ‘We’re investing in the future—our own and the industry’s.’”