How this local solar company is growing, one neighborhood at a time

Local B Corp Solar States is taking its show on the road.

The name of the Kensington-based solar company might ring a bell — it’s the same company behind the Philadelphia Solar Schools Initiative, a program that has been bringing solar energy to Philly schools since 2013, and Solarize Northwest Philly, a recent undertaking that brought solar to homes in Philly’s northwest neighborhoods.

Now, Solar States is shining a light on a handful of Philly ‘burbs.

Founder Micah Gold-Markel said the company just landed a request for proposal bid submitted by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission that will take them on a tour of 14 townships in and around Media, Pa. Using funds from recent US Department of Energy grant, the commission will be partnering with sustainability coalition Transition Town Media, Delaware Valley Planning Department and Solar States to offer discount bulk package deals to suburban communities. Transition Town, especially, is leading the solarize effort, Gold-Markel said.

The initiative is called Solarize Greater Media, and the goal is to bring the power of group purchasing to individuals who want to go solar. Gold-Markel said that as of this past Friday, the company has already received 40 requests for information from interested parties.

Here’s how it will work:

• Community meetings will be held in Edgmont, Swarthmore, Media, Aston and Marple starting next week through April.
• At those meetings, people will sign up to get a quote on solar installation.
• Discounts will be offered in tiers, meaning the price for folks to go solar will continue to decrease as the sign-up count continues to increase.

The first meeting will be Saturday, Jan. 23, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Penn State Brandywine in Edgmont.

Gold-Markel said he’s hoping to bring a similar process to South Philadelphia neighborhoods in the near future.