At Positive Energy Solar, we are all about making a positive difference in the lives of our employees and community members. We are driven by opportunities to invest dollars and time toward creating a more sustainable future for generations to come. At our company, we believe in the power of purpose-driven business. We also believe in the power of community. As a Certified B-Corporation, we volunteer each year to be held accountable for committing our business model and practices to serve all stakeholders. We aim for our operations to create holistic wealth for our team members, customers, and neighbors.
As a B-Corporation, the areas in which we measure impact include governance, the treatment of our workers, the ways in which we show up for our community, the manner in which we care for our environment, and the quality with which we exercise stewardship of our customers.
Here are some examples of how we invested our operations in creating positive impacts throughout 2022.
In 2022, we served more families and businesses than ever before with clean solar energy. In doing so we avoided 13,485 tons of CO2 annually. That’s the equivalent of the carbon sequestering power of 14,477 acres of U.S. forests in one year.
We put more jobs in the hands of New Mexicans with 36 new hires growing our team to nearly 130 PES employees. Plus, nearly 70% of our team became Employee Owners. We take pride in being an employee-owned, local, values-based business with B-Corp certification to reinforce just how dedicated we are to using our business as a force for good.
In being a force for good, we choose to increase our positive impact by putting our partnerships with local nonprofits to good work! We are grateful for the opportunity to have made several donations to the Weichert H.O.P.E. Suitcase Drive for foster children in collaboration with Red Mountain Family Services. Foster children are often given their belongings to carry home in trash bags. Our donations helped Red Mountain Family Services raise $12,500 and collect over 250 suitcases (with $10k worth of in-kind donations!)
We advocated for pro-clean energy legislation with our friends at Sierra Club. This included lobbying of our own and taking part in Environment Day at the state capitol to advocate for laws that promote an equitable clean energy transition. Our efforts as part of collective action resulted in key legislation being passed such as HB34: Solar Market Development Tax Credit Extension which extends the Solar Income Tax Credit, doubles the aggregate amount of credits available annually and makes the credit refundable. HB 37: Community Energy Efficiency Development (CEED) Block Grant was passed which aims to reduce the energy burden on low-income New Mexicans and improve utility affordability, as well as utility access.
We also held a cash donation drive to aid Storehouse NM in alleviating hunger in our state. Our team raised enough money to provide 5,715 meals to hungry New Mexicans utilizing Storehouse NM’s services.
This year we worked with dozens of local nonprofits and cause-based organizations...
which led to us establishing a brand new GIVING Program by the name of PES Gives. Through PES Gives, our team at Positive Energy is committed to amplifying the missions of local nonprofits and community organizations that align with our company’s values. Through company volunteerism, partnerships, and sponsorships of local nonprofit organizations, we are tying our clean energy mission to a more collective goal of community health and wellness.
In 2022, we also put solar in places that it otherwise could not have been! Our installation at Casa Milagro, a safe, trusting, and nurturing community home for adults recovering from homelessness and mental health challenges is saving them upwards of $9,000 a year in utility costs. That’s money that is now being invested in on-site mental and behavioral health services. We also installed a microgrid system at Hyde Memorial State Park in partnership with the State of New Mexico. The Hyde Park Memorial microgrid system makes Hyde Park New Mexico’s first park to be self-sustaining, primarily running on solar energy.
This 80 kW DC array includes a 352kWh battery system that will provide the park with more than 85% of its annual energy needs.
Aside from solar installations and financial contributions, our team dedicated several hours to solar education and workforce training. In partnership with the American Solar Energy Society (ASES) and Unirac, we hosted a women in solar workshop.
This workshop provided industry-curious women with an introduction to PV installation and the opportunity to learn how to size a system, ways to reduce energy consumption, along with the ins and outs of stand-alone and grid-tied solar energy systems. Our partnership with ASES also granted us the opportunity to cover the cost of 5 low to middle-income community members to attend the ASES National Solar Conference which took place this year at the University of New Mexico. Educational opportunities such as this help us drive more, much-needed diversity in the solar workforce.
Every ounce of positive impact we made this year comes back to your support of our business and every referral you make that makes this good work possible. This year we received 586 referrals which led to $102,400 being given back to the community through referral rewards. With 50+ 5-star reviews this year alone, we could not be more grateful for all of the ways in which you generate positive energy by spreading the word about our business and the work we dedicate our lives to. Thank you for driving positive change.
We look forward to continuing to identify exciting ways to generate positive energy all throughout 2023. Stay tuned! We have plenty of updates to come on new solar installations and fruitful partnerships that will help us create an even greater impact this year.