Our History

Connecticut Crew - Sunlight Solar Energy, Inc.

Connecticut Crew - Sunlight Solar Energy, Inc.

Sunlight Solar Energy, Inc was founded in 1988 in Sacramento, California by owner and President Paul Israel. Paul, a native of New Hampshire, has a business degree from Temple University and has worked in the the renewable energy business since 1987.  He would soon become a pioneer in the US solar industry.  Paul got his start in energy with a consumer organization called Buyers Up that banded consumers together to negotiate discounted prices for home heating oil and energy conservation home improvements.  In 1980-90, Paul became Vice President of the American Solar Network (ASN), a Herndon, Virginia based solar water manufacturing company, and during his time there he brought ASN to the Sacramento Municipal Utility District.   With that success, ASN moved its’ manufacturing and head quaters to Sacramento, CA to join Paul.

Sunlight Solar Energy, Inc. opened it’s first location in Redmond, Oregon in 1997. During this time, the services offered varied from installing Solatubes, to solar for RV’s, to residential solar hot water and solar electric. In 2003 SSE moved it’s operations to sunny downtown Bend, right off the parkway. Over the course of the next few years Sunlight Solar progressed into a company that specializes in solar electric for homes and businesses.

Oregon Crew - Sunlight Solar Energy, Inc.

Oregon Crew - Sunlight Solar Energy, Inc.

In 2004 Sunlight Solar expanded it’s operations from coast to coast, opening our second office in Milford, Connecticut. With the combination of increasingly high utility costs and the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund offering attractive incentives, Sunlight Solar saw the Connecticut solar market as a unique opportunity for growth.

In 2006 SSE gained an important ally joining forces with SunPower as a dealer/installer, and gained Sunpower Premier Dealer status shortly thereafter.  Having the ability to buy dealer direct from SunPower has allowed Sunlight Solar to consistently provide our customers with the best product at the best price, while providing long term warranties and guaranteeing customer satisfaction.

Sunlight Solar has rapidly grown from one employee in 2004 to 52 employees strong in 2009! We were also voted Best Green Business in Bend for 2008 and again in 2009.  In 2009 Sunlight Solar opened a new office in Newton, MA and started installing solar thermal systems out of all our locations.  Due to our large growth between 2008 and 2009, we became direct dealers of three other panel manufactures: Suntech, Evergreen, and Centron.

Sunlight Solar Energy Massachusetts Crew

Massachusetts Crew - Sunlight Solar Energy, Inc.

The need for investing in renewable energy is becoming increasingly more important to more Americans.  Sunlight Solar is excited to provide the opportunity for Oregon, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York residents to become empowered and take control of their energy costs.  We are also busily working on expanding into Nevada and New Hampshire.  In the past few years we have also installed several projects in Rhode Island. Our goal is to install our top-of-the-line renewable systems all over the country.

Energy Trust Of Oregon and we have Tax Credit Certified Technicians on staff to help you with your state tax paperwork. Sunlight Solar is also an eligible installer through the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund (CCEF), a Massachusetts Technology Collaborative Approved Solar Installer, a NY State Research and Development Authority Listed Contractor (NYSERDA), and a Nevada SolarGenerations Approved Installer.

We are also proud members of the following organizations: