By Joe Mohr •
April 8, 2008
Maybe it’s because this national renewable energy company is based out of St. Louis that makes them so appealing to this St. Louisan. Maybe it’s the fact that I used to blog for these guys on their project blog and know that the folks behind the curtain are good people. Or maybe it’s just the way in which they do business. Solar Night Industries (SNI) would like everyone to adopt a modern (read: renewable) energy solution–it would be good for the planet as well as their bottom line. Yet, unlike many bottom-line focused companies, SNI wants their customers to be educated. They realize that not everyone can benefit from solar/wind energy systems. They also realize that the information regarding renewable energy solutions may be daunting to the average consumer. And, most importantly, they realize that everyone’s renewable energy needs are different. As a result, SNI has made the decision making process easy and informative for the consumer, through their Modern Energy Plan.
Regular readers of sustainablog know that I’ve become a big fan of St. Louis-based Solar Night Industries since company president and founder Jason Loyet first reached out to me in early 2006. Jason and team have been kind enough keep me in the loop about new developments, and I’ve been impressed with what I’ve seen — they’ve gone well beyond solar flowers! In September, I sat down with Jason, CEO Tim Corbet, and Director of Operations Molly Salinas to take a look at their latest product, the Modern Energy Plan. The application is designed to answer a fundamental question for potential renewable energy adopters: what’s the best technology to use in terms of location, cost and return on investment.
Think of it this way: many of us who’d like to add renewable systems to our homes or businesses often already have a particular technology in mind. We don’t think “I’d like to add a renewable system to my home to produce electricity”; rather, we think “I’d like to put solar panels on my house.” Depending on costs and location, though, solar panels may not be the best option for us. Because we’re focused on a specific technology, installers have to spend time educating us on the pros and cons of the systems we’d like, and also on other options that might work better to meet our goals. For many consumers, this may feel more like a sales pitch than an education; for installers, this educating takes time away from the activities that make them money: installing systems.
