Solar Installer Spotlight: Southern Vermont Solar’s Victoria Roberts

What work have you done to move the solar industry forward?

Victoria: Our mission is to help our local community make a bold transition off of fossil fuels, create green jobs, and to make renewable energy accessible to all. We work with our utility, residents of all kinds, non profit and for profit businesses. We focus on residential and commercial solar installs, grid-tied battery back up systems, and operations and maintenance and repair services. We form unconventional collaborations so we can synergistically make an impact on our community and develop solid, green careers for our community. We award a deeply discounted, creatively financed state of the art solar system to one deserving non profit a year. We are working with our utility, Green Mountain Power to carry out an innovative peak shaving battery storage program with utility customers. We are offering our battery services at greatly reduced rates to contribute big impact on our community to achieve resilient clean electric grid goals in the next 30 years. We aim to be part of the change we wish to see as we are faced with the greatest challenge humans are facing–Global Climate Change. We aim to be sustainable in everything we do.

Why is this work important for the industry?

Victoria: We are a small local solar energy company with great success–we would like to see more local solar companies do the same for their local communities. There is a definite place for local solar installers–these are long lasting relationships we establish to see customers through the lifetime of their system. We are offering affordable local premium services and green jobs and helping making renewable energy accessible. We are installer direct, and run our operations with sustainability and efficiency at the core.

The founder and owner is a solar electrician that became NABCEP certified in 2005. He grew up low income in the community we serve, and making our mission to provide green jobs to our community a priority. We are helping innovative utility programs a success in our state, helping non profits who thought solar was out of reach for them possible, created green careers for residents that thought they needed to leave it to find work elsewhere, and make solar a reality for every day people who want to plug into the sun and live, drive, and heat sustainably. Our feedback from our community is that we are a model for an alternative to larger renewable companies for providing optimal service and making renewable energy possible. We have developed an approach to make the process easy, fun, educational, inspiring, and affordable, and proven that the industry has a unique place for local, community oriented renewable energy companies.

Your Vision: What do you hope to accomplish in your work over the next 1-3 years?

To be a sustainable local solar renewable energy company helping our community make a bold transition off of fossil fuels while providing green jobs with livable wages.

We want others to understand the advantages of a being a local installer, ways to help the community access renewable energy, how a small solar business can overcome growing pains and get organized, examples of helping non profits goes solar and the benefits.

Learn about Victoria and the team at www.svtsolar.com.

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