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[ car door closes ]
-Snipping away.
-Mike Powell... -Alright.
-Handles a lot of solar panels.
Like a lot.
-35, 35 panels.
-And that's just one house.
As an installer for Seattle based Solterra,
he's been busy hoisting 50-pound
panels to roofs across town one by one.
-And there's that.
-Then it's up in the air today,
high above Magnolia.
You ever work with anyone that has a fear of heights?
-Uh...
I think we all do a little bit at first.
We're trying to start on that end, right?
-He's worked here for a couple of years now
and says it doesn't ever seem to slow down.
[ scrap sound ]
With some customers waiting several months for an install.
[ drill motor ]
Part of that is awareness,
as more coverage of our climate crisis
drives individuals to act.
But it's also getting more affordable,
thanks to tax credits from the Federal Inflation
Reduction Act, which became law in 2022.
[ construction drill grinds ]
Over on the shores of Lake Washington...
-It's pretty cool
how simple this technology is, but how effective
and how powerful it really can be.
-Geoff Vestman with Artisan Electric
has seen the policy impact firsthand.
-The demand stayed really strong
all the way through 2023, and
we saw a little bit of a dip
with some seasonality here locally,
but with the springtime, things are picking back up.
Phones are ringing and the guys are staying busy.
-A good problem to have.
-Yes, it is.
-He says it works out to be about a 30% cost reduction
for a home solar system like this, though,
the price tag is still
significant for most—often 30 to 40 grand before rebates.
But he usually tells customers
it will pay back over about 10 to 12 years.
And business is booming.
They've grown 15 to 20%
and have been on a hiring spree to meet demand
thanks to those tax credits.
And what does he hear from customers
driving this decision to electrify?
The climate stuff absolutely.
Reducing carbon and their footprint.
You know, so there's the altruism,
there's the financial payback benefit,
and there's the lowering of the carbon footprint,
which are all positive things for for customers.
-Which is also what motivates
Amy Carpenter, owner of Solterra.
-Yeah, I feel super proud of the work
that me and my team are doing. And of course
the excitement that our clients have.
It always feels good to see someone flip the switch
and go from not solar to solar.
♪♪
-Though they do warn caution if you're considering
the solar plunge. They recommend getting three bids,
just like any contractor,
and looking for reputable companies.
The state trade group WASEIA has a list of them online.
-And you’ll look at who our members are,
you're going to know that you're
you're working with companies
who have adopted that that code of ethics
and stand by it year over year.
-President Kaitlin Borstelmann
is also the regional sales manager
for a solar distributor, Greentech Renewables.
She says the industry
is hoping for more workforce development, like electricians
hanging on to net metering policies in Washington
and education for home and business owners.
And yes, solar works,
even with our notoriously gray skies.
-Solar in general is on a really positive upward
trajectory nationally. And locally,
we've been having actually
a pretty healthy,
strong market locally relative to the rest
of the national market for a couple of years now.
-A lot of that
she attributes to educated customers
taking advantage of tax
credits, grants and other assistance.
The Department of Energy says there's
now over a million solar installations around the U.S.
and cites a study showing solar increased home value
by an average of 15 grand.
-It’s a big incentive having that tax credit.
-Back in Magnolia, work is wrapping up
and homeowner Glan Thomas
is excited to show his kids the new panels.
-It's been remarkably easy because you kind of like
have concerns about putting holes
in the roofs and doing panel replacements,
which I did as part of this project.
It's actually it's not too bad so far.
-Okay.
-And Mike Powell is still up on the roof.
-That's a wrap, man.
-Glad to be doing work that matters.
-It's nice to do some things
that we know are good for something,
you know,
trying to help
the energy and the environment and all of those things.
-Harnessing the power of the sun one roof at a time.
-I think eventually it'll get to a point where it's just
just like houses have roofs, they'll have small solar
systems added just to help the grid.
♪♪
Watch City Stream
Tuesday night at 7 on the Seattle Channel.
Or find us anytime online at SeattleChannel.org.
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