JD Smith thinks solar power installation is on the cusp of a once-in-a-lifetime boom in the state of Wisconsin and the nation.
According to Smith, Arch Electric’s director of marketing and public relations, there are several reasons the boom is happening now. First, solar power is well understood and businesses can calculate the cost benefits. Second, there is a move toward more efficient and resilient building construction. Finally, there is momentum as commercial, agricultural and residential energy users turn increasingly toward renewable energy for cost savings and sustainability.
Owners Ed and Mindy Zinthefer started Arch Electric on their farm near Plymouth. Ed is a master electrician and decided it made sense for his farm.
“He didn’t approach it from the environmental and renewables angle; he approached it as ‘I’m trying to make my farm sustainable, resilient and self-sufficient,’” Smith says.
Along the way, Ed Zinthefer became an industry expert and has worked to build not just a company, but the entire industry.
Smith says solar energy is modular and scalable, which makes it applicable for everything from residential to utility size projects.
“As far as renewable technology goes, this is not that complicated,” Smith says. “That in turn gives people confidence.”
Utility scale and larger commercial projects came along for Arch in 2018, which has helped the business grow rapidly. It currently employs 140, but that can vary based on workload.
Arch includes Arch Solar, Arch Solar C&I, Arch Electric and Arch O&M. There is a sister company, Arch Sustainability, that is an organic farm offering honey and syrup.
The company serves a geographical area roughly southeast of a line from Green Bay to Madison, though it has completed projects in adjacent areas such as Shawano County and its utility scale work is primarily in Illinois.
Arch differentiates itself by keeping all work in-house. There are no subcontractors, and Smith says they are essentially a construction company. Arch also keeps the products and materials it sells and installs on hand. There are no supply chain disruptions, Smith says, and when Arch gets a green light, work can begin.
Smith thinks Arch is ideally positioned to take advantage of the growth he anticipates for solar energy in Wisconsin and the upper Midwest.
“One of the things that makes Arch special is that we can leverage our national partnerships, longevity and assets to weather the storms,” he says.
Early adopters have included municipalities and farmers. “Farmers look at this as buying equipment,” Smith says.
Smith says heavy industry benefits from a “levelized cost of energy,” meaning that as rates increase, the cost of solar does not. “It’s a really simple business proposition … CFOs love it,” he says.
Architects and companies that have installed solar are starting to build it into projects at the design stage. That has been partly a result of sustainability goals trickling down from global companies, but also because it’s a next logical step toward efficient buildings, Smith says.
As the industry grows, talent attraction and retention can be a challenge, but Arch was recently recognized by Associated Builders and Contractors of Wisconsin for its apprenticeship program.
Longer term, Smith says Arch will continue to be part of the operation and maintenance of solar equipment it installed. He thinks that part of the industry will be as common as HVAC or plumbing businesses are now.
But for now, Arch Solar will make hay while the sun shines.
“The industry in Wisconsin is still growing,” Smith says.
