Interview with Woody Bolton, Solar Design & Sales / Member-Owner, Northwind Solar

Tell us about your ‘origin story’…

Northwind Solar was founded in 2007 by Josh Stolzenburg and grew into several areas of focus including solar electric, solar thermal, small wind, and energy efficiency. Like the rest of the solar industry Northwind rode the “solar coaster” with unfriendly changes to utility rate structures, uncertainty around incentives and equipment costs. Through all that Northwind learned a lot and built internal capacities. This led to the transition in 2017 from an LLC to a worker owned cooperative and an exclusive focus on solar electric systems. Over the last few years Northwind has added in energy storage systems, electric vehicle charging and smart home panels.

Tell us about the different types of projects Northwind handles.

Northwind works in both the residential and commercial spaces. When it comes to commercial projects Northwind focuses on small to mid-sized systems up to 500 kW. Residential work comprises their largest number of projects and as of the last two years an increasingly growing portion of these projects have included energy storage, EV charging and smart home electric panels, providing customers with resilience and a greater degree of control on how they use energy in their homes.

What do your customers appreciate most about your work?

We consistently see in reviews that our customers love our installation team. Our crews are professional, approachable, communicate very well and always leave a customer site clean and tidy. We are constantly thinking how we can improve our process to make the next job even better.

What has been your experience with supply chain issues over the past year?

Like everyone else we experienced significant supply chain issues in 2020 and 2021. In 2022, things seemed to get back to closer to pre-pandemic times. We have a very skilled and diligent procurement team that has kept our warehouse stocked in order to complete projects.

Not everyone is pursuing battery systems yet and they are a core part of what you do. Why do your customers opt to incorporate a battery with their solar array?

Over the last two years we have seen a tremendous attachment rate for energy storage systems on residential systems. Most of our customers are doing it for backup power in the inevitable event of a grid outage. One benefit that not everyone sees from adding an energy storage system is that you protect yourself from likely utility rates changes by being able to supply most of your home electrical needs from solar and your energy storage system.

Tell us about making an impact in your communities…

Northwind is proud to be part of our central Wisconsin community. We live and work here and can provide service that out of state and remote companies just simply cannot. We have partnered with many local non-profit organizations in our area including, Central Rivers Farmshed, The Midwest Renewable Energy Association, North Central Conservancy Trust, Schmeeckle Nature Reserve, Habitat for Humanity, Mid State Technical College, local churches, farms, and governments.

Tell us about the most interesting or unique system you have installed.

In our earlier days we installed systems from Madeline Island to Door County to Kenosha and to La Crosse. Some unique systems we have installed are systems for the Madeline Island Ferry Line and several locations for the town of La Pointe (on Madeline Island) as they work toward a microgrid for the island community. Recently we have helped many homes become almost energy independent (If only we could get the sun to shine more in December and January in Wisconsin!) by utilizing solar and energy storage. Additionally, we installed a 140 kW array at the City of Stevens Point Water Department that offsets 100% of the annual electric usage at their garage building.