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Recent SCTCC grads’ solar specialty brings brighter futures

The panel of reflectors in back of Scott Randalls house is 12 feet high and 40 feet long. Its rotated monthly to get just the right angle to the sun which on a recent clear day glinted off the dozens of photovoltaic cells.

Randall believes the future is just as bright for his new vocation in solar energy. He and his friend and business associate Jack Kluempke are recent graduates of an energy technical specialist program at St. Cloud Technical & Community College. Both have launched ventures they say have given new life to their careers.

Randall, 50, was a cabinet maker who needed to look for a different line of work because of a back injury. A visit to the Minnesota WorkForce Center identified his interest in energy, but it wasnt until he installed his own solar system that he knew the path he wanted to follow. The project generated a lot of interest, not to mention electricity.

I used to go to work and rave about how high my energy bills were, said Randall, who first studied construction 30 years ago at a vocational school in Mankato, where he learned to build earth-sheltered homes. We put a system in two years ago and Xcel Energy paid $11,600 of the cost. There was a state rebate at the time for about $10,000 and a 30 percent federal tax credit. After all was said and done, we had a $24,000 system and it was almost free. Now, with some lifestyle changes in how we use power, weve reduced our kilowatt usage by more than half.

In the Randall home, lights are turned off in empty rooms. They purchased energy-efficient appliances and use power strips so the TV and computer systems can be easily shut off.

Its to the point where I dont pay Xcel anymore. They pay me to put power back in the grid, Randall said.

Randall started Apex Solar and became qualified to do energy audits, for which he started another business Energy Specialists Inc.

Kluempke, meanwhile, teamed with his brother-in-law to form Array Solar, a division of Winlectric in Elk River. Kluempke is in charge of sales and development and supplies contractors like Randall with components.

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Kluempke, 46, grew up in Melrose and earned a finance degree from St. Johns University, but realized a desk job wasnt in his future. He worked in construction for 10 years until he was recruited into sales for a granite fabricator.

I saw the (construction) slowdown coming, and I thought that would be a better position for me, he said. I never thought it would hit what it did. About half the company I worked for got laid off including me. Id never been without a job since I had my first paper route when I was 10.

He found an interest in solar energy at the same time as Randall. Kluempke has been involved with just about every project Randall has started so far.

There was a need for a distribution arm so you didnt have to deal with 15 different vendors all over the world, Randall said. This way you dont have the shipping costs and youre able to keep your business local.

Whether a potential client contacts Randall or Kluempke, the process is similar. They do a site analysis to figure out how the client is using energy. Then theyll come up with a system design that will make them more efficient, get the components and install them. They also coordinate with electricians, plumbers and engineers when needed.

We help people with the low-hanging fruit first, Kluempke said. If theyve got a hole in their house sucking hot air into the attic, it makes more sense to fix that first before you look at a solar system.

Randall has an engineering degree from South Dakota State University, but said his extensive educational background was mostly theoretical. He worked from coast to coast, but wanted to settle his family back in Minnesota. Going to the technical college gave him hands-on experience.

Its nice to be able to walk up to a controller or a motor and work on it, said Randall, who has one business partner and an intern coming this summer. A lot of engineers arent able to do that.

They say a lot of energy companies offer solar solutions, but they are among the few who specialize in it. Theyve installed systems all over Central Minnesota, from Alexandria to Cambridge. In cities, their business mostly will be the photovoltaic systems like the one behind Randalls house.

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In rural areas, where people dont generally have access to natural gas for heating, they install thermal systems to help mitigate the cost of propane and fuel oil. Thermal systems, which cost about $9,000-$10,000, are cheaper than photovoltaic, Randall said.

The problem for a lot of people is the up-front cost, Kluempke said. They say, ‘I dont have that kind of money. But once you start piecing it together, it can make real sense. A solar system will increase your home value, but it wont increase your property taxes. If youre going to live in a home with one for 7-10 years, its a worthwhile investment.

Randall added the systems should have a 30- to 40-year life span, and he and Kluempke can measure a clients solar efficiency and guarantee a level of production. To augment their training at the St. Cloud Technical & Community College, they took classes in a specialized solar program at Century College.

Half of the current energy industry workforce will retire in the next five years and the growth in the wind and solar fields is undefined, said Bruce Peterson, dean of trades and industry at the SCTCC. Solar got off to a bad start in the 1980s where you had passive systems on the side of a house. Technology is much more advanced now. The systems are active, not just used to warm up something else.

Just through word-of-mouth, theyve kept busy so far. They say the potential for business in the St. Cloud area is huge.

This isnt rocket science, but a lot of it is about education, Kluempke said. You have to understand the components and how they work together.

To that end, Randall will be teaching classes this winter and spring through SCTCCs Customized Training and Education Center.

Kluempke doesnt have a solar system at his Elk River home yet.

My house is surrounded by trees, he said. I only have about a 50 percent solar window.

But thats going to change. Likely within the next year, he said, those trees are coming down.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 25th, 2012 and is filed under Business Analysis. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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