Valley solar-energy companies shine

The solar-energy industry is turning into one of the bright spots in an otherwise gloomy central San Joaquin Valley economy.

Solar companies are expanding rapidly, adding jobs and creating opportunities for people laid off from construction and farm jobs.

Economic development officials think solar and other forms of alternative energy are well-suited for the central San Joaquin Valley, where unemployment tops 12%, summertime temperatures reach triple digits, power bills are high and fallow land can accommodate arrays of solar panels.

And a generous federal tax credit, new state regulations and innovative financing methods are spurring industry expansion.

How large the solar industry will get remains to be seen. State rebates, which were a catalyst for homeowners and businesses to install solar, are winding down as the industry grows. And there are concerns that acres of solar panels would destroy animal habitat.

Determining an exact tally of people working in the solar industry is difficult, but it is clear from interviews that companies are installing panels on more homes, schools and businesses, and constructing large-scale solar farms.

Fresno continues to add companies. One of the most recent was a nonprofit. Grid Alternatives opened an office in July with four paid employees and two volunteers from AmeriCorps VISTA, a nationwide community-service organization.

Grid Alternatives helps low-income families reduce energy bills with solar.

“People are more receptive to solar,” said Tim Sears, co-founder of Grid Alternatives.

“Prices are down significantly, cities are better equipped to deal with permitting, there are more suppliers and vendors, and it is an important part of the energy mix as we transition away from fossil fuels.”

Other factors also are helping spur growth. Among them:

* The federal government’s stimulus program, which created a 30% federal tax credit for people who install solar systems, and earmarks $35 million — up from zero last year — into energy block grants throughout the eight-county San Joaquin Valley.

* The state’s desire to have 33% of its power needs coming from renewable sources by 2020.

* New financing arrangements, such as as leasing and power-purchase agreements, in which homeowners pay for the power but not the solar panels.

As of Oct. 31 in Fresno County, 41 companies applied for state rebates available to solar-energy users. Not all have offices in the Valley, but that number is an increase from two years ago, when there were only about a dozen, said Gregg Fisher, central San Joaquin Valley sales manager for San Luis Obispo-based REC Solar Inc. That company has about 30 employees in Fresno.

Some firms are having trouble finding skilled workers, so schools such as West Hills Community College in Coalinga are stepping up.

Through a partnership with school districts in Firebaugh, San Joaquin and Mendota, West Hills helped train 65 people. Those people now make $10 per hour assembling premanufactured components at CleanTech America’s 40-acre, 5-megawatt solar-power field being planted in western Fresno County, said David Castillo, director of the West Side Institute of Technology, the West Hills program.

The institute trains more people in solar than there are jobs available, but Castillo hopes the emerging industry will continue to grow.

The CleanTech construction jobs will last about 21/2 months, but those employees could move on to other solar projects, creating more permanent employment, he said.

Large solar projects are planned for Avenal, Panoche Hills, Coalinga and the Carrizo Plain in southeastern San Luis Obispo County.

The Coalinga project, which Chevron is doing, could keep a couple dozen assembly workers employed for more than a year, Castillo said.

The industry also is boosting business for electrical companies and others at a time when other construction work has disappeared.

About 250 members of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 100 in Fresno are trained in solar, said Kevin Cole, assistant business manager.

A-C Electric Co. of Fresno recognized the potential in solar energy five years ago and has steadily expanded that part of its business.

Division Manager Stephane McShane said she expects that to continue.

“Energy costs continue to be high and business owners see how solar can offset some of their costs,” McShane said this week, shortly after returning from a ceremony at University of California at Merced that marked the completion of a 1-megawatt solar-power system at the campus. That’s enough energy to supply 20% of its annual power.

A-C was the electrical subcontractor on the job, which kept a handful of electricians working for four months. About 25 people total worked on the Merced project, said campus spokeswoman Donna Birch Trahan.

Dennis Cox, regional manager of SolarCity, thinks the industry is here to stay.

SolarCity, one of the leading residential solar installers, employs 51 people in Fresno — and hired about 20 of them in the last year.

Douglas Boyajian, 28, of Fresno is a SolarCity employee. Trained in house painting and construction, he applied at SolarCity 18 months ago after the housing market went south.

Boyajian received classroom and on-the-job training, and today installs solar panels on houses and businesses.

He says entry-level workers can start out earning $15 per hour in a profession that he thinks will keep growing.

“In the last 30 years, 60,000 houses got solar. Fifty thousand of those were over the last five years. We won’t run out of solar in our lifetime,” he said. “This definitely has legs,” said Cox, his boss. “When the utility bills get high enough to be painful, people start calling.”

That’s true at Akeena Solar, which has 27 employees and operates from a small strip center in Clovis.

“So far this year, we are breaking records for sales,” said Paul Ahern, regional sales manager. The new financing methods “have made the difference between this being a growth business or a staggering business.”

By Sanford Nax / The Fresno Bee