The following was submitted by Rainshadow Solar.

The oldest solar installer in Washington changed hands last summer, as Justin and Chris Wolfe took over Rainshadow Solar from John Mottl (who set sail for a trip around the world).

Justin brings more than a decade of technical experience designing utility-scale wind farms around the world and is the electrical administrator for Rainshadow Solar. Chris brings expertise from her work in sustainable transportation for a large nonprofit organization and is supporting day-to-day operations. Both are from the Pacific Northwest, having graduated from the University of Washington and have a long history of visiting the San Juans before making the permanent move to Orcas. They are avid sailors and race as members of Orcas Island Yacht club.

Rainshadow Solar’s core crew of Brett Bartmasser (lead electrician), Eric Youngren (system designer), Tami Kopp (office manager) and Tessa Ormenyi (electrical apprentice) grew in late fall with the additions of Rich Rodriguez (commercial electrician) and Adam Lutz (electrical apprentice). Rainshadow Solar is a licensed general and electric contractor in the state of Washington.

Rainshadow Solar continues to help customers across all of the San Juan Islands with grid-connected renewable energy design and installation, as well as off-grid energy system solutions. The cost of solar has become much more affordable in recent years, and with the new developments in battery technology, islanders can install systems that both produce and store energy – particularly useful when the power goes out in windstorms! One thing that many islanders may not realize is that the cost of electricity has increased 5% on average, year over year, for the past decade and is expected to continue. Many customers are now viewing their solar investment as a strategic financial decision with positive return on investment, given the increases in cost of electricity and the uncertainty associated with hydropower generated by Bonneville Power Authority (the source of most of our electricity). With the recent interest in electric vehicles, they are also installing car chargers for islanders with EV’s (OPALCO offers $500 rebates!).

Visit www.rainshadowsolar.com or call 360-376-5336 more information.