Solar Power World releases 2016 Top 500 Solar Contractors list

Solar Power World, the industry’s leading business-to-business publication, today announced the release of its 2016 Top 500 Solar Contractors list. The Top Solar Contractors list is the most recognized annual listing of North America’s top solar contractors working in the utility, commercial and residential markets.

Companies are grouped and listed by specific service (construction firms, developers, electrical subcontractors, EPCs, rooftop contractors), markets (commercial, residential, utility) and states by 2015 installed capacity (in MWdc).

This year’s Top Solar Contractors list, which is the fifth annual, includes 38 contractors that have appeared every year since 2012. Three of these companies—Monolith Solar Associates, Creative Energies Solar and Energy Independent Solutions—were profiled for the issue.

“We’re immensely proud of this year’s class of contractors—they’re all doing great work—and we have a special place in our hearts for the companies that have been with us since the beginning,” said Steven Bushong, associate editor of Solar Power World.

You can interact with the Top 500 Solar Contractors list many ways. Here are your options:

• Go straight to the web-based Top 500 Solar Contractors list
• See the list and related content as it’s printed in the magazine with our Digital Edition
• See all of our Top Contractor features from the magazine

Contractors by market:

• Top Utility-Scale Contractors
• Top Commercial-Scale Contractors
• Top Residential-Scale Contractors

Contractors by service:

• Top Solar Developers
• Top Solar EPCs
• Top Electrical Subcontractors
• Top Rooftop Contractors
• Top Solar Construction Firms

Contractors by selected states:

• Top Arizona Solar Contractors
• Top California Solar Contractors
• Top Colorado Solar Contractors
• Top Florida Solar Contractors
• Top New Jersey Solar Contractors
• Top New York Solar Contractors
• Top North Carolina Solar Contractors
• Top Pennsylvania Solar Contractors
• Top Tennessee Solar Contractors
• Top Texas Solar Contractors
• Top Utah Solar Contractors
• Top Washington Solar Contractors

“The companies on this year’s list exude solar-business brilliance, and they deserve to be recognized not only for being great companies but also for how their work positively impacts the environment,” said Kathie Zipp, managing editor of Solar Power World. Solar energy is a renewable resource with great potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association.

This year’s cohort of contractors works amid a burgeoning business market. The U.S. solar market is expected to grow 119% this year, according to GTM Research.

Altogether, listed companies employed 133,707 people in 2015, up from 124,967 last year. While a majority of solar electricity is produced at large, utility-scale solar power plants, the greatest number of installation jobs are located with companies that service residential and commercial clients.

One such company is San Diego-based Palomar Solar, which was profiled for the Top Solar Contractors issue. The company has steadily grown year-over-year, from 12 employees in 2013 to 27 employees today.

Other interesting facts about the 2016 Top 500 Solar Contractors list include:

• 231 identified themselves as EPCs; 171 identified themselves as rooftop solar contractors
• 287 worked primarily in the residential market; 154 worked primarily in the commercial market
• 130 companies were headquartered in California
• 355 companies had at least one NABCEP-certified principal on staff
• 77% of companies reported doing most of their business within its state of headquarters
• 119 contractors reported have 10 or fewer employees; 236 reported having between 11 and 50

“No one can deny that local companies are supporting the growth of the industry,” Zipp said. “Our Top Solar Contractors are the face of the industry—meeting homeowners and business leaders on doorsteps every day.”

To ensure the quality of the list, Solar Power World again partnered with SolarReviews.com, the leading site for customer-generated reviews of solar installations and solar equipment, which offered analysis of businesses.

Also, Solar Power World again received input from a contractor advisory panel, listed below:

A1A Solar Contracting
Bithenergy
E Light Wind and Solar
Elemental Energy
Exact Solar
Greenbelt Solar
Helios Solar
Helix Electric
Intermountain Wind and Solar
Lighthouse Solar Hudson Valley
LightWave Solar
New England Clean Energy
Palomar Solar
Photonworks Engineering
Simply Solar Systems
Solar Energy World
Solar Impact
Solar Source
Sol-Up USA
SunHarvest Solar
Sunsense Solar
Tennessee Solar Solutions
Texas Solar Outfitters
Yes! Solar Solutions

Solar Power World extends a special thanks to our partner, SEIA.