A Lucky 13 Years in Solar: Meet Nick
A Lucky 13 Years in Solar: Meet Nick
Nick Governale holds a special status at SunCommon: he is one of the original employees from day one – that’s THIRTEEN years of helping folks go solar. He has one of the few, coveted, first-name-only email addresses, a holdover from a time when the company was small enough that one name was plenty. A lot has changed since the first-name-only days, and Nick has had a front-row seat to it all.
Day one was actually February 1, 2012. Adele’s “Set Fire to the Rain” was the #1 song in the US, and Barack Obama was president. And a little startup called SunCommon was ready to do things differently than the other solar companies in Vermont (which in truth was only around two companies). We signaled our intent to be different by driving a parade of our now-recognizable branded electric cars through downtown Burlington. SunCommon was doing its best to show up as a uniquely Vermont company: scrappy, optimistic, and neighborly. In the subsequent months, SunCommon sent Community Organizers to events around the state to meet people and let them know that the power of the sun was an affordable and easy way to use less fossil fuel.
And as you can imagine, a lot has changed over the years. Today’s solar arrays are not the same as the ones we built back in the day! While solar panel technology has remained relatively stable, the green tech around solar has evolved dramatically. Battery backup, for example, has really added value to residential projects, and according to Nick about half of our solar projects now include battery backup. Also, he noted that projects tend to be bigger now, as many homeowners are powering other newer technologies like heat pumps and electric vehicles. The world has definitely gone in the direction of full-home electrification!
Nick’s prediction for the future is more of the same– continued expansion of the solar industry. He points to a tradition of creative problem solving and forward progress, even during a time when people didn’t really know much about solar and its value and benefits for homeowners. He noted the industry’s continued ability to adapt over time as a key factor in its longevity. Nick also predicted that with climate change increasing the frequency and intensity of storms, interest in home energy storage/battery backup will continue to expand as electric utilities are paying homeowners to be able to use energy from batteries on the grid, creating a win-win.
Nick was also reflective about the meaning of working in the solar industry. “You know, when I started, I didn’t think about it as much. But since then, I’ve had my kids, and I realize that we owe it to them to leave the world better than we found it. We know the dangers of climate change, it’s our job to do what we can.”