Our History
Nearly 20 Years of Hands-On Industry Experience in All Sectors
American Solar Operations founder, Steve got started in solar in the mid-2000’s in South Florida, where the industry was already decades old. He learned the ropes from the ground up at a long-standing local company, where half of their work was in servicing existing solar thermal systems, and the rest was with new solar solutions of all types, including PV and thermal. His work there saw over 1,000 homes and local businesses every year, where he saw and touched every step of every project out of necessity.
Fast forward a decade and Steve and his family are living in his birth state of Oklahoma, where he began to make a massive impact on the regional solar industry with his extensive solar experience, software and engineering background, customer service and business acumen. During this time, he worked with local utilities and cooperatives, tribal nations, international enterprises, institutions, government entities, local businesses, manufacturers, law makers, distributors, and homeowners all across America and beyond. He was responsible for thousands of successful projects and multiple megawatts of active solar, up until the global pandemic.
During lockdown, Steve lead several remote teams in multiple states, bringing and establishing the gold standard in remote solar assessments, driving profits during a testing time for most American businesses. His experience across three decades of the solar industry and every step of the value chain, and his comfort with a customer, a solar project, or any business operation, sets our value apart from any other American solar group. These experiences and partnerships grew into what is now known as American Solar Operations.
“I have worked with [ASO] a lot over the years on a lot of different projects and on behalf several different companies, and I will again in the future. They always find a way to deliver, and usually faster and more thoroughly than anyone else could. They made designs, bids, projects, tools, and operations possible that otherwise would have failed, and they still underpin much of our work today. I would use their expertise in any and every system and project we have, if I could.”
- Seth C, Energy Professional
7,500 Homes, Builder-Integrated
Net-Zero Community
Whisper Valley in Austin, TX boasts several award-winning and world’s first features. It offers a community geothermal well as a utility service and net-zero capable homes, ready for first-time homebuyers. Each home is an off-the-shelf and/or customized floor plan from a large traditional builder, and the solar installation was successfully integrated into building stages like a typical trade. Additionally, each home was custom designed for that floor plan and pre-interconnected, with complete validation and authorization from the local utility, before the construction and sale of the home was completed. This entire process lowered the cost of initial installation on individual homes - before applying any scale benefits - and rolled the cost of solar into the home mortgage, benefiting new homeowners on day one with positive equity and energy savings compared to a similar home without solar. It also allowed builders to add no cost per foot of build, no special floorplans, and profit from a larger overall home price as a result of the solar inclusion on the home.
American Solar Operations members along with EcoSmart Solution were the chief architects and operators of the integrated concept, home intake, solar design, project data, project management, interconnection, and the software, communication, and cloud platforms that operated and automated the systems together for 7,500 homes’ scale. Through their work, they were also instrumental in establishing the concept and practical application of what became known as “Solar-Ready Construction”, adopted by Austin Energy and others, and utilized for green building certifications and rebates.
Downtown Public Structure, LEED
ASO members were responsible for the solution engineering, solar design, RFP response, and project management of the City-County Library in Downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma. The rooftop system sits under the picturesque skyline, and helps the building to achieve LEED certification, and has been featured in many places and publications, including the U.S. Department of Energy’s website.
The project is unique in that it is connected to the city’s downtown electrical grid, which for technical purposes can receive no backfeed. ASO members worked with AlsoEnergy to engineer an adaptive throttling of the PV system during building operation, and to enact an AC-level rapid shutdown in the event of a full-stop need, as well as robust system performance, monitoring, and control.
“The founder is personable and got along well with the team, and they contributed to various management and strategic planning meetings regularly. I was impressed with their deep knowledge of all facets of the solar PV industry, and creative management and processes. I appreciated their willingness and ability to fill in wherever needed, which is a hallmark and much needed asset for any small business.”
— Charlie C, Small Business Owner