Celebrating Top Solar Companies: Mayfield Renewables

In the solar industry, technical expertise and education often live in separate worlds. Engineering firms focus on design, while training organizations handle workforce development. Mayfield Renewables has grown and evolved into something different: a company where engineering excellence and education feed each other in a continuous cycle of innovation and knowledge sharing.

We spoke with Ryan Mayfield, Founder and Chief Engineer of Mayfield Renewables, and Laurel Hamilton, Head of Growth, about how education became central to their engineering firm and why they believe sharing their expertise makes the entire industry stronger.

From Side Gig to Core Mission

Ryan’s path into solar education started almost by accident. In 2006, while working for an architecture and engineering firm, he received a request to teach at Lane Community College in Oregon. “I had no idea what I was really getting myself into and just said yes because it sounded fun,” Ryan recalls. That decision came at a pivotal moment in his career, and by spring 2007, he launched Mayfield Renewables.

At the beginning, Ryan viewed education as important but not yet a core focus of the business. Teaching opportunities were chances to do something he genuinely enjoyed, rather than strategic business development. He taught at community colleges, led sessions at NABCEP conferences, and worked with organizations like the Energy Trust of Oregon on a request basis. The shift toward making education a true pillar of the business came after Laurel joined the team five years ago. “I saw this good synergy and a need in the industry,” Laurel says. “Ryan loves teaching, the engineering team has a pulse on relevant challenges and solutions, and there’s a huge need in the industry for clear guidance so why not do more of it?”

The Engineering-Education Connection

What makes Mayfield’s approach particularly effective is how their engineering work directly informs their teaching. The company focuses on commercial projects, particularly complex systems involving energy storage, microgrids, and sophisticated PV installations. Working on regional and national projects with diverse partners means they’re constantly navigating code compliance, product integration challenges, and evolving requirements.

Every project brings new challenges to solve, and these real-world experiences become teaching opportunities and further broaden an ever-evolving curriculum. Mayfield Renewables’ educational offerings include self-guided online classes, conferences, quarterly and customized training programs for companies, as well as an annual in-person two-day Education Summit.

Giving Away the Secret Sauce

Ryan’s philosophy on education stems from his own early career struggles to find good learning resources. “I remember early on in my career just trying to absorb so many things and there weren’t a whole lot of resources to do so,” he says. Home Power Magazine was his primary resource, and he found himself working hard to piece together the knowledge he needed.

That experience shaped his approach to running an engineering firm that also educates. For Ryan, sharing expertise is about making the industry better as a whole. He acknowledges getting strange looks sometimes from people who wonder why an engineering firm would share its expertise so freely, but for him it connects back to the mission-driven spirit of the solar industry when he entered in the late 1990s.

Laurel adds a business perspective to this ethos: “We’re selling expertise and if we can put ourselves out there, even if it’s sharing some of our secret sauce, …at the end of the day, we’re just all trying to do better. And if people see us as a valuable expert resource, they’re going to come to us to help them.”

Mayfield Renewables believes that a rising tide raises all boats, and this knowledge-sharing approach benefits everyone. When clients understand the complexities of their projects before engaging Mayfield for engineering services, it leads to better planning, better questions, and ultimately better outcomes.

Building a Learning Culture Internally

Mayfield Renewables’ commitment to education extends to its own 25-person team. They’ve established weekly internal lunch-and-learns. Sometimes they bring in outside experts to discuss products and technologies, and other times they have team members share lessons from recent projects.

These internal sessions serve multiple purposes. They keep the entire team current on new products and approaches, they create space for honest discussion about challenges and mistakes, and they reinforce the idea that continuous learning is fundamental to the work they do. The company also provides education stipends for team members to attend conferences or specialized training.

Laurel notes that this internal focus on learning reflects a core company value: humility. In an industry where technology and best practices are constantly changing, recognizing that you don’t know everything and staying open to new approaches is essential to serving customers well.

Advice for Moving the Industry Forward

When asked what advice they’d offer to clients wanting to help advance the clean energy transition, both Ryan and Laurel emphasize the importance of staying current with rapidly evolving technology. Ryan finds the industry’s constant change exciting, and he encourages companies to lean into new technologies rather than shy away from them. Challenging yourself to expand your offerings, even when it feels uncomfortable in the short term, ultimately strengthens both individual companies and the industry as a whole in the long term.

For companies looking to grow and make an impact, Laurel’s advice starts with storytelling. Figure out what makes your company unique and communicate that clearly. The solar industry is full of highly technical, smart people, but technical expertise alone isn’t enough. Don’t assume potential clients will automatically understand your value. Be intentional about marketing and sales, and don’t be afraid to tell your story.

What’s Next

With their team growing, Mayfield Renewables continues to balance its dual focus on engineering excellence and education. They’re planning their 3rd annual Mayfield Education Summit in Chicago for late September, bringing together industry professionals to share knowledge and advance the field.

Their approach offers a model for how technical expertise and education can strengthen each other. By staying actively involved in complex engineering projects while also committing to sharing their insights, Mayfield helps raise the capabilities of the entire industry. This knowledge sharing connects back to the mission-driven roots of solar. Humility, combined with a genuine commitment to helping others learn, is what makes Mayfield Renewables an anchor in the clean energy transition.

Interested in developing expertise in electrical codes & standards, commercial solar, energy storage, and complex system design with Mayfield? Check out their educational offerings on HeatSpring.