Hawaii's Sunetric Enters Mainland U.S. Solar Market

Kailua-based Sunetric, one of Hawaii's leading solar installation companies, last week began its push into the continental United States with the opening of offices in Washington, D.C., Pittsburg and solar-friendly Denver. As part of the expansion, it also plans to open five additional U.S. offices in the first quarter of 2012.

The renewable energy player, once content to expand its operations in the Aloha State, says the regional offices will allow it to better pursue opportunities throughout the country while maintaining a Hawaiian base, where it will continue to focus on growing its residential, commercial, and government business.

In addition to installing photovoltaic solar and battery storage systems, Sunetric will offer a new range of services throughout the country, including energy audits and total building energy-efficiency upgrades.

The small but fast-growing company, founded in 2004, has 140 employees and estimates 2011 sales will be more than $130 million.

Despite American solar panel makers' recent struggles, the overall growth of solar power and a supply glut of PV panels flooding the global market has contributed to falling system prices and driven down the cost of installation, something that has been a boon to installers like Sunetric.

The company has also benefited from Hawaii's increasingly pro-environment sentiment, its focus on solar power and other sustainable research, and the state's goal of having clean sources account for 70% of its energy needs by 2030.

Image Credit: Arlington County via Flickr.