Earth Day 2020 with Solar on Our Minds

By Karen L. Edwards, RCS Editor.

The air quality benefits from the reduction in the use of fossil fuels and carbon dioxide emissions might push people toward solar power.

With millions of people sheltered in their homes during this coronavirus pandemic, we’ve seen an astounding drop in pollution. According to a recent article in Fast Company, the northeastern United States saw a 30 percent reduction in nitrous dioxide pollution and the famous Los Angeles smog has dissipated.

But the cleaner air won’t last. We’ve seen that as China has reopened some factories and cities, the pollution is returning, just as bad as before.  Gretchen Goldman, a research director at the Union of Concerned Scientists told Fast Company, “We already have all the tools we need that would allow us to have cleaner air all the time, irrespective of the pandemic and social distancing. We could be switching from coal to renewables. We could be adapting national standards for clean energy.”

As people see the dramatic difference in air quality over the past several weeks as we stopped driving, flying and many factory operations, they may be influenced to switch to more planet-friendly renewable energy sources such as solar. California has mandated that new construction homes have solar systems as an electricity source, though just a few weeks into 2020, they relaxed those requirements a bit.   

The Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA) reported in March 2020 that 13.3 gigawatts (GW) of solar PV capacity was installed in 2019 to bring total installed capacity to 77.7 GW, or enough to power 14.5 million homes in America. They predict a steady trend of growth in solar.

So how can roofing contractors offer solar options to their customers? The model has traditionally been that solar is installed by large, national solar companies but that trend is shifting with efforts to help bring mid-tier contractors to the table to offer solar. Peter Lippert, National Vice President for Beacon Building Products believes established roofing contractors can help meet the demand as well as drive it much faster than large national installers.

According to Lippert, Sunrun and SunPower offer to take the difficult solar projects off builders’ hands, but Beacon can make this business model possible for any size roofing contractor. Beacon can kit the system for contractors and deliver it to the jobsite. “We can also help them drive down the cost of a standardized solar array that they can scale and keep consistent within a new construction community,” said Lippert. “We’re going to be the go-to solution for custom homebuilders and folks that want to have a say in how they specify the solar that’s going on their homes.”

Beacon’s 3D+ platform, an exclusive 3D modeling tool, could help solar contractors attract new customers. Beacon 3D+ transforms mobile photos of any home into a fully measured, customizable 3D model. Contractors can also order and get delivery of the solar materials and roofing materials that they need at their warehouse or jobsite. With Beacon’s Pro+ product, contractors can automate customized order workflows, get access to live pricing, send material orders directly to their Beacon Building Supply location and track deliveries from their smartphone.

Beacon started its solar division in 2008 to offer solar products to its more than 100,000 individual customer accounts. They are now focused on roofing contractors and residential installers to expand services to include tools such as when-you-need-it delivery, cashflow support and credit options.

“Because of Beacon’s scale and presence in these markets, we can benefit when a new solar market gets stronger and suddenly starts growing rapidly, no matter the region,” said Lippert.

Learn more about Beacon Building Products and all their solutions in their RCS directory.