Updated August 22nd, 2021 / Written by: Sid
HOW IT BEGAN…
July heat in Texas is quite simply a very miserable thing to endure. The degree of “miserable-ness” is significantly heightened when you are on top of a roof in the middle of the day and the sun has just crested to its zenith in the sky. But as I stood on that roof sweating through my blue jeans, feeling my face burn and watching the sunscreen melt off my body, I was as content as I had been in a very long while. Two rows of seven solar panels rested on the roof, stoically absorbing the sunshine to power the home below, and the pure joy came from knowing that my best friend Jeff and I could say we put them there.
In March of this year, I was in a different place: at a desk in an air-conditioned office, staring at a laptop for at least 10 hours per day. I was an auditor at an accounting firm and every day I was thinking of different ways change my career path. There was not enough learning going on to say that I was developing positively so a change needed to be made. I also couldn’t shake the feeling that my work had little to no impact on the world. So by the end of April I left that job, but new stresses inevitably emerged. What in the world was next? As it happens, fate called me a couple of days later.
“Hey, I’m going to start a solar company,” Jeff said, “Come on board with me.”
Jeff, the CEO and founder of Sunshine Renewable Solutions, has a way of always getting you excited about whatever venture he’s getting into. We talked about all of the possibilities and strategies we could implement. Nevertheless, I still wandered for a couple of months until finally, he called me again one afternoon in July.
“Hey come help me on this install. I need you.”
Hands-on manual labor had never been my strong suit, but I’ve always wanted something different. If I truly needed to be convinced about solar, this was the only way for me.
As I continued to stare at the solar panels that hung on Sean’s roof, I finally felt I had made a difference. That feeling I was yearning for – to make a differnece – had found me.
Sean and his wife had been unbelievably hospitable to us during our three days of the grueling installation. In return, we had given him the power to generate his own energy. He no longer had to deal with lofty utility bill payments, and we got him closer to his goal of having himself and his log cabin completely self-sufficient. Sean wanted the opportunity to enjoy his home on the river and experience a deeper connection with the natural world, rather than a utility connection and all of the unknowns that come with it.
After this experience, the mission for Sunshine Renewable Solutions became very clear. We wanted to foster along a cultural movement to change the way people think about, and enjoy, energy.
Our mission is to educate you and show you that your own solar panel installation is something that you can own and produce yourself. Solar will connect you with nature and you’ll never have to worry about uncontrollable market fluctuations. Together, we will give back and protect our awe-inspiring planet.
For more information on vetting solar installers, please read here! You can also find an abundance of great information from Solar United Neighbors here. Happy shopping and we hope you go solar soon!
