Secure Futures Opens Office in Charlotte, NC

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Jan. 26, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Secure Futures Solar, a commercial-scale solar power developer based in Staunton, Va., has recently opened an office to offer distributed solar power systems to schools, hospitals and businesses in North Carolina. The new office will be staffed by two veterans of solar power and energy businesses. The Charlotte office will seek to develop the substantial untapped market for commercial solar power in one of the nation's top three solar states.

The Tarheel State currently ranks third behind California and Texas for solar capacity, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association of America. However, in contrast to California and Texas, which each boast a balanced mix of solar power from the three major sources – homes, commercial entities and electric utilities -- the vast majority of solar installations in North Carolina are owned and operated by monopoly utilities. Commercial-scale solar represents less than five percent of total solar capacity in North Carolina.

"Utility companies have made great strides in providing clean solar power through the electric grid in North Carolina," said Ryan McAllister, Chief Executive Officer of Secure Futures. "But distributed solar at commercial scale has faced significant barriers in the state. Secure Futures is now introducing a practical way for schools, hospitals and businesses in North Carolina to enjoy the financial benefits of generating their own solar power right on site."

Thanks to a strong Renewable Portfolio Standard and other public policy encouraging clean energy, North Carolina has installed 6,487 megawatts of solar generating capacity, providing 7 percent of the state's total electric power as of late 2020. The state boasts enough solar panels to run the equivalent of nearly 800,000 homes. Prices of solar installations have fallen 45 percent over the last 5 years, allowing more than 200 solar companies to create 6,617 jobs in the state as of late last year, according to SEIA.

Despite all these gains, high upfront cost to customers has prevented the growth of distributed solar power in North Carolina. Distributed solar offers benefits not available from centralized, utility-scale solar including money savings to customers, positive environmental impact and adding resilience to the electric grid. A 2017 law authorized solar leasing, offering homeowners along with schools, hospitals and businesses the opportunity to host a solar energy system on site with no upfront capital cost.

Secure Futures is among a handful of providers authorized by the North Carolina Utilities Commission to offer distributed solar power through the state's solar equipment leasing program. Through its proprietary Solar Self-Generation Agreement^®, the company is the only commercial-scale solar provider in North Carolina to offer a modified version of leasing with benefits to the customer not available through a traditional lease.

"Leasing doesn't allow customers to benefit from the largest incentive available to go solar, federal tax credits to purchase solar equipment," said CEO McAllister. "This is especially hard on non-taxable schools, hospitals and local governments, which cannot qualify for the tax incentive even if they choose to buy their own solar equipment."

Unlike traditional leasing agreements, the SGA^® allows Secure Futures to pass along savings from the federal Solar Investment Tax Credit to tax-exempt customers. The solar ITC was recently extended by Congress through 2022 at a rate of 26 percent.

Secure Futures will offer on-site solar power by SGA^® financing in North Carolina through its new Charlotte office, staffed by two veterans of solar power and energy.

Joe DeRado will serve as Business Development Director for the whole company, supervising sales staff in the three states currently served by Secure Futures. Formerly Vice President of Market Development for Sun FundED, a service company in Indianapolis focused on helping K-12 schools go solar, DeRado also worked for Constellation Energy and Direct Energy Business.

"I'm looking forward to help local governments, hospitals and businesses in North Carolina save money with a new option for on-site solar power at no upfront capital cost. With my background in energy for education, I'm also eager to connect schools with innovative classroom programs to provide students with hands-on experience in solar power and clean energy," said DeRado.

North Carolina native Jeff Gowdy will serve as Business Development Associate in Charlotte. Gowdy holds a Solar Photovoltaic Certification from Everblue and previously worked as a solar installer. Currently, he is enrolled in a remote program to earn a master of engineering degree in Space Operations from the University of Colorado, uniting his interest in clean energy with a lifelong love of space exploration.

**Headshots of Charlotte office staffers available at https://tinyurl.com/y4ywtfkv**

About Secure Futures, LLC
As a market and policy leader, Secure Futures builds, owns, manages and funds affordable Resilient Solar Solutions^® for hospitals, schools and businesses. The company combines state-of–the-art solar technology with an innovative business model to make commercial scale solar readily affordable in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast, helping customers to realize the economic, environmental, and community benefits of solar energy. In 2017, Secure Futures became a Certified B Corporation®. Find the company online at www.securefutures.solar.

Contact: 
Erik Curren, Secure Futures
[email protected]
540-466-6128

SOURCE Secure Futures LLC

Related Links

http://www.securefutures.solar

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