2014 was a big year for the residential solar industry and an even bigger year for Clean Solar. We surpassed multiple milestones as a company and received numerous awards and accolades for our record growth, charitable donations, and exceptional customer service, so we have a lot to celebrate. Here is a closer look at all of the 2014 year.
January – March
- Corporate Partnership Program
- Clean Solar expanded our Corporate Partnership Program, offering the Bay Area employees of local companies premier pricing on a residential solar installation as an employee benefit/perk. Participation has grown significantly, allowing thousands of employees to receive premier pricing.
- Clean Solar receives one of the highest SunPower Net Promoter Scores
- Clean Solar, aSunPower Elite Dealer, was honored by SunPower, a high-efficiency solar panel manufacturer, when they released their Net Promoter Scores for their North American installers for the year 2013. We had one of the top scores and ranked in the top tier percentile, meaning we had a higher score than almost all SunPower installers throughout the region.
April – June
- Certified B Corp
- Clean Solar became a Certified B Corporation because we wanted to meet higher standards for a company’s positive impact on their employees, community, and environment. To become a Certified B Corp, a rigorous evaluation was conducted and we met the comprehensive performance standards to qualify for certification. The prestigious designation is awarded to new companies which use the power of business to solve social and environmental problems.
- Clean Solar adopts PACE Financing
- Clean Solar has become one of a unique group of solar installers by offering Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) to our arsenal of financing options. The program is a great alternative financing method because it is paid through your property taxes.
- San Jose Mayor speaks with Clean Solar CEO on the future of solar
- Clean Solar CEO and CALSEIA Bay Area Chapter President Randy Zechman welcomed San Jose mayor Chuck Reed to speak at the SunPower headquarters. Mayor Reed discussed his “Green Vision” for San Jose and the future of solar in the city.
- Best in Silicon Valley
- In the 2014 Voter Poll of San Jose Mercury News and San Mateo Times readers, Clean Solar was voted Best in Silicon Valley for “Best Solar Installer”. This is our third consecutive win in this category, we also won the award in 2012 and 2013.
- Bay Area News Group’s Top Workplaces
- Clean Solar has received recognition as one of the Bay Area’s 2014 Top Workplaces by the Bay Area News Group. We ranked at #11 of the Top 50 small companies, those with less than 50 employees. Recognition is based solely on surveys about the workplace completed by the company’s employees.
July – September
- Clean Solar donates to a solar project in Ghana
- Clean Solar donated to a solar project organized by Santa Clara University students as part of the Guadalupe River Park Conservancy Project which has built test setups of solar trackers with the help of theSunSaluter system. This same design was then implemented in the village of Ejura in Ghana, a community with limited access to electricity or running water. The electricity produced can be used to charge cell phones, lanterns, and power small water pumps.
- Solar Power World’s 2014 Top U.S. Solar Contractors List
- Solar Power World, the industry’s leading source for technology, development and installation news, compiled a list of the Top 400 Solar Contractors for the year 2014 and Clean Solar ranked #2 for Bay Area solar installers, #70 for all residential contractors in North America, and #179 overall. The list represents the best residential and commercial solar contractors in the entire United States and Clean Solar has ranked for two consecutive years, also making the 2013 list of Top 250 Solar Contractors.
- 5000’s list of Fastest-growing Private Companies
- This year, Clean Solar was added to Inc. magazine’s long-standing, exclusive list of the fastest-growing private companies in America. Clean Solar was the only energy company from the San Jose area to make the list, we ranked #6 on the fastest-growing in San Jose, and ranked at#1977 overall on its eighth annual Inc. 5000, an exclusive ranking in 2014 based on revenue growth.
October – December
- 1,000 installations
- Clean Solar has surpassed the milestone of 1,000 residential solar installations. Our very first panel was installed in late 2007 and we have had a record year in installations for 2014.
- Clean Solar moves up Silicon Valley Business Journal’s Book of Lists
- The Silicon Valley Business Journal Book of Lists provides listings of hundreds of the hottest area companies in their fields, by ranking. The list ranks solar installers by total kilowatts installed for commercial and residential projects combined in Silicon Valley and Clean Solar ranked #7 overall for kilowatts installed in 2013, being the top-ranked exclusively residential installer.
- B Corp Champions Retreat
- Clean Solar joined other B Corps from around the world in Burlington, Vermont for the annual B Corp Champions Retreat. The event gathered some 400 attendees together to celebrate B Corp’s collective success and the growth of this global movement.
- $160,000 in charitable donations
- Clean Solar is committed to giving back to the community. In fact, we see charitable contributions as an integral part of our business model as well as our corporate social responsibility. We provide a $150 charitable donation for every Clean Solar installation made in the name of the homeowner purchasing solar and have now surpassed $160,000 in charitable donations.
- Ribbon-cutting of Salad Bar Program
- Clean Solar held its first ribbon cutting of the 8 salad bars donated to local elementary schools throughout San Jose, at Daves Elementary School in Monte Sereno. Clean Solar is very proud to have partnered with the Silicon Valley Leadership Group to donate eight salad bars to support State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson’s “Team California for Healthy Kids”.