Green energy shines like a beacon in a sea of fear and changing landscapes. Amid the massive storms and unique weather events, green energy tames greenhouse gasses while easing the fear of the potential loss of jobs and corporate profits. PosiGen CEO Thomas Neyhart changes opportunities into viable platforms that increase jobs, drop greenhouse gas emissions, increase energy independence, and raise corporate earnings and profits. Here’s a closer look at why this is important.
Table of Contents
Differentiating the Market
Thomas Neyhart continues with his vision of solar for everyone. His solar programs allow low-to-middle income homeowners and businesses to access solar energy’s raw power and economic benefit without the considerable upfront costs. The position is a stark difference from the hype we hear from the gas and oil industry, where the cry of warning is all about lost jobs and sinking profits.
One of the critical differences is the approach to market segments that are traditionally underserved or not even recognized. The gateway to entry includes the removal of barriers such as credit scores, cash down payments, and socioeconomic burdens. What has changed is that there is:
- No Fico required
- No minimum income required
- No debt to income requirements
The process to go solar does have requirements, which help ensure greater success in energy transitioning. The requirements include:
- Homeowner – You must be a homeowner to apply
- Current electricity bill – Applicants must show a copy of a current electricity bill, which helps to show usage, potential savings, and costs.
Further, benefits that open doors include the lack of escalating factors such as variable interest rates. In place of escalators, homeowners receive a fixed monthly bill that spans the entire 20-year period. As a result, homeowners and businesses no longer have to fear rising interest rates and higher monthly bills. Thomas Neyhart brings his visionof solar for all to life with thoughtful attention to the market he serves.
Barriers to going solar for low- and mid-income homeowners include variable monthly payments when other income expenditures can increase.
No escalators – means that homeowners have a fixed monthly bill for the entire 20 years, and that fixed amount is reassuring as it shows the total cost per month and helps illustrate the savings.
PosiGen is the only company that pairs a custom Energy Efficiency package with the Solar offering, which means their customers can see guaranteed savings. Other solar companies offer guaranteed production – a solar array that will produce this amount of energy. However, Neyhart saw an opportunity to do more than add solar to low- and mid-income households. He saw that by including energy efficiency and solar power, home’s energy usage would drop, and the cost savings for homeowners and businesses would rise.
Thomas Neyhart and Underserved Communities
While many solar companies focus on the upper half of the income pyramid, Neyhart recognized low- to mid-income homeowners would need solar energy too. If solar energy could positively impact more significant issues such as climate change and the localized impacts of severe weather, such as Hurricane Katrina, those homeowners in the bottom half of the income pyramid would benefit from solar and energy efficiency programs.
By recognizing the solar barriers and formulating programs that removed those barriers, a more significant percentage of communities could go green and add solar energy to their rooftops. The positive impact means that over 75% of the solar systems and energy upgrades installed by PosiGen go to low-income homeowners and often within communities of color.
Another fact that helps make the first so true is that over 65 percent of PosiGen’s team are people of color or are women. That is a double positive because not only do low-income homeowners have access to solar energy production, the communities in which they live see an increase in jobs for people of color and women. That may sound lovely, but it is more. By bringing stable jobs to underserved communities, those communities begin to prosper too.
PosiGen CEO Thomas Neyhart — Raising Profits Lowering Emissions
Rapid Company Growth Thanks to Leadership from Thomas Neyhart
PosiGen under Thomas Neyhart was recognized as the fastest-growing energy company in the US in 2014. That growth has not slowed down. Much of what Neyhart has accomplished from 2014 to the present is to solidify the capital needed to grow the company and place key people in leadership positions.
Today, PosiGen has over $35 million in equity and credit lines in the $100 million range, as well as a healthy chunk of tax equity that totals $100 million too. In addition, investment money rolls in because of the growth of the company and the long list of awards given to both PosiGen and Thomas Neyhart. The company’s success comes from a sales position that allows the company to care about the communities they serve rather than bottom-line revenue. When you care about people, the bottom line handles itself – a philosophy that mirrors the PosiGen position.
Welcome Solar Expert, Josh Storrusten
In May 2021, PosiGen welcomed Josh Storrusten as Vice-President of Operations, handling contracting and activation for customers. Josh brings to the table a wealth of solar experience from both the residential and commercial solar marketplace.
And Inflow of Investment and Equity
In April 2021, PosiGen added two capital investments to their company. The first in the amount of $8 million from Mizzen Capital, LP for working capital and a second Series D equity investment for $27 million from a group of private equity investors.
The company under Neyhart aims to close the gap between green energy and low-to-mid income homes, which they have achieved to date. With over 10,000 families served and under Tomas Neyhart’s leadership, what has been a traditionally underserved segment of the community now has an opportunity to improve how they live thanks to having access to green energy through PosiGen.
