Innovation

Third Sun Solar designs and installs photovoltaic cells. It was founded in 2000 when the co-founders wanted to build their home using clean energy and decided to research the benefits of photovoltaic cells. Seventeen years later, the company is now a certified B Corporation and has converted over 600 residential and commercial properties to solar power.

To give a simple explanation of how the photovoltaic cells work, when the cells are exposed to sunlight they produce an electrical current. That current is passed through a device called an inverter that conditions the power to match the utility power of the building. The building then uses solar power first, and the utility is there for night time and additional power needs.

Inspiration

The inspiration for this company came when the founders, Michelle and Geoff Greenfield, were building their home. The couple bought a plot of land that did not have access to utility power, so they wanted to install photovoltaic cells on the house. They searched the Ohio area for a company that specialized in this area and could not find one. Therefore, they took it upon themselves to learn how to design and install the cells themselves.

Their neighbors began asking the couple about the photovoltaic cells and also wanted the couple to install the cells on their houses as well. Once installing the cells on some of their neighboring houses, Michelle and Geoff saw the opportunity to offer their photovoltaic cells to a broader audience and thus created Third Solar Sun.

Overall impact

This business is related to the UN Sustainable Development Goal #7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and #13 (Climate Action).

This technology can impact a wide variety of institutions such as governments, schools, businesses, agriculture, and not-for-profit companies. For governments and not-for-profit companies, going to solar energy can help cut costs and make a positive impact on both the mission and the budget. For schools, the impact can go beyond cost savings and become a learning tool for the students. Businesses can use photovoltaic cells as a hedge against rising energy costs, and agricultural companies can also benefit from cost savings.

Business benefit

A switch to solar energy is inevitable to some people, and governmental impact will have a large impact on how quickly that transition happens. For example, the Federal Solar Tax Credit, which is also known as the Investment Tax Credit, allows 30% of the cost of installation of photovoltaic cells to be tax deductible from federal taxes for both residential and commercial buildings. There is also no value cap on the deduction, which will benefit larger and agricultural companies which would require a large initial capital investment. Therefore, there is a major business opportunity for companies that are able to design and install these cells. One of the co-founders, Michelle Greenfield, also talked about a good quote from Amory Lovins when it comes to a business benefit of photovoltaic cells. She said that "even if solar is not the lowest cost energy that you can buy, and even if it does not provide the best ROI, you should still buy solar for the same reason you need to have bonds and T-Bills make up 20% of your investment portfolio."

Social and environmental benefit

From an environmental point of view, the use of photovoltaic cells reduces greenhouse emissions, reduces water waste, and reduces human dependence on finite resources.

From a social point of view, the reduction of greenhouse emissions will also increase the standard of living, especially in highly populated areas. Also, the long term hedge against volatile electric prices gives people predictive power over a portion of their financial position.

Interview

Debbie Seyfang, Director of Administration