Fort Worth company recognized by Solar Power World Magazine

Solar Power World Magazine’s 2018 Top Solar Contractors list ranks Fort Worth-based Envirosolar high among the nation’s solar companies based on kilowatts installed in the previous year.

The list showed the company ranked No. 8 among the category of rooftop installers nationwide, No. 18 among residential installers nationally and as the top rooftop installer in Texas and fifth overall in the state.

The company reported installing 31,595 kilowatts of power in the time period covered.

The Top Solar Contractors list was developed by Solar Power World to recognize the work completed by solar contractors across the United States and includes solar developers, subcontractors and installers within the utility, commercial and residential markets.

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“Solar Power World is very excited about the 2018 class of Top Solar Contractors,” Kelly Pickerel, editor in chief, said in a news release.

“Our 2017 list showed impressive installation numbers after 2016’s huge rush to meet ITC requirements, and many companies were hesitant to show unavoidable installation dips after last year’s high,” Pickerel said. “We’re happy to feature a strong group of thriving U.S. solar installers on the 2018 Top Solar Contractors list. These companies truly are at the top of their markets.”

Envirosolar owner and CEO Abe Issa said that the first quarter of 2018 showed a 13 percent growth over the first quarter of 2017, and Envirosolar will continue to contribute to the wave of increasing solar generation.

“We thank our staff for their hard work and dedication as well as our customers’ loyalty and referrals for another great year,” Issa said.

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He said Envirosolar provides a custom solution for each customers that allows them to save money on their monthly energy bills while reducing their long-term carbon footprint.

Issa first made news in 2015 when his company, Global Efficient Energy, was listed at No. 32 on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing companies, the second-highest ranked Dallas-Fort Worth area business.

Envirosolar was created as a legal entity in 2012 but began operation as a completely separate business from Global Efficient Energy in 2016. It is a different business model, focusing on solar technology rather than energy efficiency.

“Originally we thought we had good philosophy and that was leading with energy efficiency, and we were hoping to accomplish savings with energy efficiency and we were doing very little solar at the time,” Issa said in a 2017 interview.

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“The things that we learned with the old business is that you can’t control how somebody’s going to use energy so you can’t do any kind of guarantee on savings with energy, “ Issa said. “That’s something that we did and we learned the hard way that you can’t do it that way – leads to a number of complaints, issues.”

The plan with solar is different.

“We’re providing large solar systems for homes and we are doing very little energy management and smart home technology,” Issa said. “We integrate energy management smart home technologies with the solar and we don’t guarantee savings. We just show what the solar production is supposed to be based on the size of the solar systems.”

Solar Power World Magazine said the U.S. solar market had its biggest year ever in 2016, installing more than 15,000 megawatts (MW) of power.

“Although installations in 2017 dropped to 10,608 MW, the total still represents 40 percent growth over 2015 numbers,” the magazine said. “The year-over-year downturn can be attributed to the large influx of 2016 projects rushing to meet the anticipated expiration of a 30 percent federal tax credit that was eventually renewed. Last year also saw uncertainty surrounding potential Section 201 tariffs on imported solar panels, which may have led to delayed or canceled projects.”

HOW THE LIST IS GENERATED

Companies apply to be on the list by filling out an application and providing documentation of their work, which is then verified with state interconnection records, utility records and vetted by an advisory board of contractors and developers from across the country who review the list prior to publishing.

Companies are listed according to the kilowatt capacity of projects they installed, developed or helped construct in the previous year within the borders of the United States and its territories (global installations are not counted, including installations in Canada).

The list includes solar photovoltaic system companies that provide the following services: Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contracting, development, construction/installation, electrical work and/or rooftop-specific installations. Companies can do work in any market segment, including utility, commercial, residential and off-grid, and may be listed in multiple ways by state/territory, market and service.

Companies must be headquartered in the United States.

Includes material from Business Press archives