Move expected to create 20 jobs
8:20 PM, May 5, 2014
This photo Dec. 10, 2013, provided by the Seneca County Sheriff's Department shows solar panels at the sheriff's department in Romulus, N.Y. / AP
A Rensselaer-based solar installation company has announced plans to open a regional office in Binghamton and create 20 permanent jobs in the area.
Monolith Solar Associates plans to invest
about $2 million for the Binghamton expansion.
about $2 million for the Binghamton expansion.
Steven Erby, vice president of Monolith, said the company hopes to have a location — near a busy street but not on one — by July. At that time, Erby plans to have hired roughly half of the location’s 20 employees.
of Monolith, said the company hopes to have a location — near a busy street but not on one — by July. At that time, Erby plans to have hired roughly half of the location’s 20 employees.
Monolith already has an office in Rensselaer and in Kansas City, Missouri. Erby said having a regional office in Binghamton will allow Monolith to more easily serve central and western New York.
serve central and western New York.
“It’s a win-win for us,” Erby said. “We get to go help businesses and make moneyourselves.”
ourselves.”
Monolith will be joining a region where environmental leaders are still trying to raise awareness about the benefits
of solar energy.
of solar energy.
Local officials are currently rolling out Southern Tier Solar Works, an initiative of the Binghamton Regional Sustainability Coalition that allows homeowners and small businesses to participate in a bulk solar buying/leasing program. The program has held eight educationalworkshops for residents and has two more planned this month.
workshops for residents and has two more planned this month.
ETM Solar Works in Endicott, founded in 1988, will be doing the installations for the pilot round of Southern Tier Solar Works.
Gay Canough, CEO and founder of ETM, said her company has done 70 site assessments for Southern Tier Solar Works and 14 people are currently signed up for the program.
the program.
Each year, Canough said, ETM needs about 60 residential installations to make a modest profit. She said the local market for solar energy is small but growing as people find out more about the benefits.
. She said the local market for solar energy is small but growing as people find out more about the benefits.
Despite the small area market, Canough believes ETM will be able to stay in business, even with the upcoming addition of Monolith.
“As for the competition, bring it on,” Canough said. “We’ve been here 26 years.”
Erby, of Monolith, envisions a much larger market, stretching from Binghamton up to the Canadian border and northwest to Rochester and Buffalo.
“We’re really excited,” Erby said. “We know that the market is there. We think it will be a great fit.”
.”
Monolith Solar was founded in a garage in Rensselaer by Erby and Mark Fobare, the company’s president and CEO. Since the company’s start in 2009, Monolith has installed 16.6 million watts of solar capacity.
. Since the company’s start in 2009, Monolith has installed 16.6 million watts of solar capacity.
With the addition of a Binghamton office, Erby said, the company expects to triple that figure over the next 18 months.
“There’s so much potential,” he said. “So many people are really hungry for this.
”
,” he said. “So many people are really hungry for this.”
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