Solar installers find success remaining loyal to local communities

pv magazine USA spoke with community-based installers that have kept their feet on the ground as a way to avoid riding the solar coaster’s higher peaks but deeper drops.

June 23, 2025 David Kuchta

Image: Bill Mead, Unsplash

Defying the headline-making bankruptcy of a yet another nationwide solar installation firm, many long-time solar installers have learned that staying in business requires remaining loyal to their local communities. Rather than over-extending their resources by expanding too broadly too quickly, these companies have grown steadily by relying on customer referrals and word-of-mouth.

These companies exemplify an adage Barry Cinnamon, host of The Energy Show podcast, calls “Cinnamon’s Law.” The bigger a solar installation company becomes, the less money it makes. The bigger its revenue and the more layers of management it needs to serve multiple jurisdictions, the bigger its losses. Some of these companies never recover.

pv magazine USA recently spoke with numerous small- to medium-sized installation companies to get a sense of how important remaining local has been to their success.

Founded in 2001, Creative Energies, a solar installer serving Utah and Wyoming, said it spends little on online advertising and nothing on expensive door-to-door sales efforts. Utah is among the states where solar sales practices by national firms have come under increased government scrutiny, so Scott Kane, co-owner of Creative Energies, said his company attempts to be “as local as possible,” even to the point of making sure that company trucks have license plates issued by the state in which they are working. Kane said his company grows mostly by urging its past customers to talk to friends and neighbors.

Based in western Massachusetts, PV Squared is an employee-owned cooperative that’s been in business since 2002. As a member of PV Squared’s sales team, Daniel Berry emphasized the importance of company’s responsibility to the community and commitment to its customers. Solar is a “long-term relationship,” Berry said. “We’re not focused on speed.”

The company’s sales team, which does not work on commission, are all company co-owners who live in the area. According to PV Squared, its sales come mostly by referrals and sponsorships of local community organizations.

When pv magazine USA asked Janice DiPietro, chief integration and customer officer at Maine-based ReVision Energy, if they plan to expand beyond the three states they serve, DiPietro said they are a community-based company that prides itself on being a local business. Founded in 2003, all of ReVision’s residential installations and sales efforts are done in-house. DiPietro stressed that installers who take the time to educate customers may not max out sales volume in a single year, but will end up with happier customers who become solar advocates and drive future business.

In an increasingly competitive industry, being local can be a key selling point. You can see that emphasis on installers’ homepages.

Arizona’s simply named Rooftop Solar, founded in 2008, promotes itself as “Your local sunshine source.” The homepage of Exact Solar in Newtown, Pennsylvania, touts itself as “your local solar experts, proudly providing solar installation and service to our neighbors in Pennsylvania, New Jersey & Delaware for over 20 years.” Many local installation companies, such as Texas Green Energy and Alabama Energy Doctors, compete against national companies by emphasizing their local roots in their company name.

Community-based installers have kept their feet on the ground as a way to avoid riding the solar coaster’s higher peaks but deeper drops.

This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.