Thanks to concerns about global warming and the price of imported oil, solar energy has experienced a boom in the past several years. It’s not the first time, and this year’s Best Green Business is actually a product of the last surge.
“SolarCraft was founded at the tail end of the solar energy boom of the late 1970s and early ’80s,” says company co-founder Bill Stewart. “In the mid-1980s, there was an industry shakeup when government tax incentives ended, and most large solar companies went out of business. In 1984, Dennis [Nuttman, Stewart’s fellow co-founder] and I worked for a company called Solar Energy Sales. It closed on a Friday, and we opened SolarCraft the following Monday. Most of our customers couldn’t tell the difference.”
Back then, he recalls, the focus was on solar-thermal energy, meaning primarily heating for water and swimming pools. Through the second half of the ’80s and into the ’90s, this market recovered and remained strong and, according to Stewart, it’s still the most cost-effective piece of solar technology, because it pays for itself so quickly. But Stewart and Nuttman (who’s no longer active in the company but remains a partner) had their eyes on a bigger prize.
“We always knew solar-electric would become viable. We stayed up on the latest technologies and became electrical contractors in the meantime,” says Stewart. “Then, in 2000-2001, the state’s electricity market went through the roof—I’m sure you remember that. All of a sudden, people were interested in solar electricity; it was in direct response to the climbing rates. Today, solar electricity is 80 percent of our business.”
And what a business it is: SolarCraft clients now range from residential and small commercial entities in the North Bay to larger commercial, industrial and agricultural enterprises locally and across the state.
In 2005, SolarCraft installed a 411-kilowatt system on top of Cline Cellars’ barrel storage area in Sonoma. It became the first of many winery projects, a list that now includes Sonoma’s Jacuzzi Vineyards, Merryvale Vineyards in Napa, Wellington Vineyards in Glen Ellen, and a large upcoming installation for Goldeneye in Philo (it’s part of the Duckhorn wine family). “From a winery standpoint, solar is a great investment,” says Stewart, “because of the [wine] industry’s focus on sustainability and because of the positive image a winery can build.”
But it’s not just wineries that can benefit from solar’s cost-savings and image enhancement, he adds, because choosing to go solar is no longer a fringe decision.
“Solar makes sense,” says Stewart. “People want to do this. Financing is the biggest challenge right now. Home equity lines simply aren’t an option right now, and lenders categorize solar installations as a home improvement—like remodeling a kitchen—when, in fact, they’re profit and revenue-generating improvements. So far, credit issuers aren’t differentiating. But I think that will slowly change.”
The general public also needs to rethink its understanding of solar electric systems, Stewart continues. “Many people don’t understand how seamlessly a solar electricity system integrates with existing home systems,” he says. “You’re not disconnected from the utility companies; you still have access to that energy if you need it. But every day, you’re generating power and feeding it back into the system—usually during those crucial peak hours, when extra energy is most needed in California.”
So embracing solar energy does more than just lower your home energy bill: It’s a move toward the greater good. “A year ago, headlines were about the price of oil and global warming. The economy has taken over and pushed those headlines further down the page, but those problems are real and they’re not going away,” says Stewart. “The needs haven’t changed, and I think that, within six months to a year, we’ll be back in full-growth mode. I’m optimistic that, as the economy starts to rebound, alternative energy will come back into focus as a necessary change we all need to embrace.”
