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On the Bright Side

Nov 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Mike Pile, President, Mike Pile Partners, a Solar Consultancy

Exploring opportunities for electrical contractors in the solar space

Amid the housing slump, banking crisis, wild swings of the stock market, and a generally gray economic outlook, there is a glimmer of virtually untapped opportunity in the electrical industry. Perforating the clouds of economic uncertainty are endless rays of solar power — and they are shining squarely on the shoulders of electrical contractors. The timing for alternative energy is now, putting electricians in a great position to capitalize on this booming business.

Solar electricity has come a long way since 1954 when scientists at Bell Labs ushered in the first practical applications for the photovoltaic (PV) effect. But after passing through a wave of popularity in response to the oil crises of the '70s, solar electricity settled into an off-grid alternative more associated with hippies than with the hard realities of energy economics. Today, however, the Prometheus Institute for Sustainable Development, based in Cambridge, Mass., estimates the installed base of solar electricity in the United States at 259 megawatts and projects it to grow to 1,590 megawatts by the end of 2010. Perhaps most important to electrical professionals is that this market is expected to require an additional 40,000 skilled employees within the next 10 years, according to findings from the Los Angeles chapter of NECA and IBEW Local 11, presented at the American Solar Energy Society conference in Cleveland in July of 2007.

No group is better positioned to take advantage of this growth than electrical contractors, giving them an undeniable inside advantage in this niche. After all, solar electricity is electricity, and who understands electricity better than an electrical contractor? For starters, a contractor's existing customer base is the ideal place to begin a dialogue about alternative power sources. Because these clients typically already have a relationship with an electrician, they are less likely to allow an “outsider” (who is not familiar with their building) handling a mission-critical function. Therefore, the electrician or electrical contractor gets the first shot.

A bright future

According to Rob DeLong, an independent clean energy consultant in Mill Valley, Calif., the signs of long-term economic viability are there for renewable energy alternatives. “It is the brightest spot in the economy today,” he says. “These days, almost every company in every sector has a green shade to it. We see this as much more than a passing trend. Reducing, recycling, reusing, and renewing will be integral to every business moving forward.”

Confirming this trend, investment in renewable energy technologies is also increasing. In fact, according to the United Nations, more than $100 billion was invested in renewable energy in 2006. Although the industry remains volatile, environmental worries will sustain this pace well into the future, says DeLong.

Political leaders of every stripe are also beginning to recognize and internalize the spectrum of benefits offered by renewable energy. It is no longer about excoriating big oil, but about putting food on the table. Renewable energy is a growth area for the economy and with growth comes jobs, consumer consumption, and the seeds of a revitalized economy.

National security also plays a supporting role in solar's bright future. “Eliminating our country's dependence on foreign sources of energy, principally oil and natural gas, is fundamental to U.S. national security both from an economic and political military point of view,” said Diarmuid O'Connell, a government-relations expert and former aide to Colin Powell, in an interview earlier this year. “The best way to address this imperative is to develop diverse — and in the best case renewable — domestic sources of energy generation. In this regard, commercial installation of solar generating capacity is an ideal solution.”

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