When Geoff Mirkin co-founded his company, Solar Energy World, a decade ago, the solar power industry was just in its infancy.
Today, Mirkin and his partners, Tope Lala and Al Gleeson, aresolidly in the mainstream, with the residential solar energy business expectedto double by 2024, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. More than1 million solar systems have been installed in the United States, and homeowners are reporting estimated savings ofup to $20,000 over extended periods of time.
Based in Elkridge, SolarEnergy World installs solar panel systems for residential and commercialproperty owners in Maryland, Virginia, southern Pennsylvania, southern NewJersey and Washington D.C.
Jmore recentlyspoke to Mirkin, a Gaithersburg resident who serves as CEO of Solar EnergyWorld, about his company and the solar power field.
Why should homeownersgo solar?
It depends on your motivation. Some people want to savemoney on their utility bills. That’s the most popular reason. The other reasonis that it is more environmentally friendly.
How exactly does one afford going solar, and how much canyou save?
Some people will pay for it outright, and they will get a 10percent return on investment right away. Or you can finance solar over severalyears, and with a low interest rate loan you will still be cash-flow positive,compared to whatever you are paying the utility for your energy now. Even witha loan, you will start saving money immediately.
There’s also a power purchase agreement, or PPA, where youlock in a low rate for 25 years. A finance company finances that project, andsells the energy back to the homeowner at a low rate with guaranteedproduction.
How complicated issolar panel installation?
We have really streamlined the process to make going solar easy. We take care of the permitting, the site inspections, the interconnections with the utility companies. We take care of everything to make it as simple as possible.
So what happens on cloudy days?
Obviously, solar systems produce better when it is fully sunny,but they still produce on cloudy days. If it is raining, you can still use theelectrical-grid production. We also do some battery backup, so that even if thegrid goes down, we can draw electricity from the battery, which is charged bythe solar.
We also use several tools that show the last 100 years’ worthof weather data, so we can give projections on solar production based on datathat accounts for sunny days, rainy days, snowy days. It’s very predictable.
Do you see the demandfor alternative energy evolving in the coming years?
We have been doing this for 10 years and we are ahead ofwhere we thought we would be. I am very bullish on the future. When we started,people thought solar was like putting a space shuttle on your roof. They justhad no idea. Now, people see solar everywhere. It’s much better understood.
People also see the fiscal sense of it. If you are going topay the electric bill regardless, why not save on that? So we see a growingdemand every year. At this point, only about 1 percent of the homes on Marylandhave solar on them, so we have barely scratched the surface.
What do you need todo to compete successfully in this emerging industry?
You’ve got to hire good people, people who are passionateabout the work and will put the company first. Then, you have to know what eachparticular customer wants and be able to provide that.
For example, it takes about eight weeks to go solar today.Some people want to get a call five times a week. They want to know everything thatis happening in the process. Other people are more hands-off. You check in everytwo or three weeks just to let them know it is on schedule. We find out howthey want the project handled and we work to meet that expectation.
Why exactly did youget into this business?
I sold my roofing company in 2008 when there was a lot oflegislation around tax credits for solar. It looked like a great business toget into.
I was also motivated by the environmental aspects. My kidswere in elementary school learning about renewable energy, and it meant a lotto them.
They’re going to be around a lot longer than I am, and Ifelt like it was important to do my part.
For information, visit solarenergyworld.com.
Adam Stone is anAnnapolis-based freelance writer.
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