Gratitude, like solar, is a renewable energy that gives us power and is contagious. Here’s a short list of Solar Changemakers we’re thankful for and we encourage you to share your gratitude for solar with others as well.

1) Customers!
Happy customers are our Solar Champions, early adopters, and our greatest resource in spreading the word about clean solar energy.

2) Third Sunians
This team crusades for solar every day, climbing to new heights installing arrays, speaking at community events, and walking the talk to accelerate the shift to clean energy.

3) Renewable Energy Advocates
Associations like the Ohio Advanced Energy Economy, Solar Energy Industries Association, and Green Energy Ohio advocate for a clean energy economy in Ohio every day to the state and federal congresses. Right now they are battling to continue the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) that expires at the end of 2016, which has reduced the cost of solar arrays by 30%.

4) Amicus Solar Cooperative
Being a member-owner in this coop benefits our customers by lowering the costs of installing solar on their homes and businesses because we pass purchasing discounts thru to them.

5) Ownership Partner
We’re thankful for Dividend Solar partnering with us to make solar more affordable for homeowners. They offer financing with as little as $0 down, so you can own your energy instead of renting it. You experience energy savings from day one and receive the tax benefits all while investing in your home.

 

Around the office, we’re getting a little worn out from all the hype and consumerism of Black Friday. So this year we’ve decided to opt out of Black Friday and Opt IN to Green Friday. You might be wondering what we mean by that. Well, being a solar company, we tend to be green-minded. We spend a lot of time thinking up ways to do good for our communities and environment, and the more we thought about Black Friday, the more it didn’t sit well with us. So we’re reimaging what it could be.

Green Friday for the team at Third Sun is going to be spent reconnecting, recharging, and relaxing this year, and here’s how we plan to do it:

• Relaxing with our loved ones both near and far
• Playing flag football
• Hiking at local parks
• Mountain Biking
• Skateboarding
• Decorating for Christmas
• Renovating our homes

A couple more ideas for opting into Green Friday would be to volunteer your time with a nonprofit, clear out your closets and donate items to charity, or sleep in and enjoy a cup of coffee while reading the newspaper. Opt IN to Green Friday with us and share your plans to do it in the comments below, Twitter, or Facebook.

Over the last year, the solar industry has continued its double digit growth throughout the US, creating thousands of jobs along the way and outpacing the national average. Many of these jobs have been filled by our military veterans. We are proud of our veterans for their commitment and service to our country, and we are excited to have them securing our energy future by joining the solar workforce.

Veterans are now nearly 10% of the solar workforce and with their discipline, motivation and technical expertise that percentage should continue to grow and outperform the percentage of veteran employment nationwide. Even the Department of Energy recognized the contribution that veterans could make to the solar industry and created the Solar Ready Vets program last year, which connects our nation’s skilled veterans to the solar industry, preparing them for careers as solar installers, sales representatives, and system inspectors.

Over 8% of our Third Sun Solar team is made up of people who have served in the military and we thank them for their service to our country as well as the work they do now to secure America’s energy future.