More homeowners plug in to solar, wind
Alternative energy products aren’t just for homeowners at the extreme ends of the political spectrum anymore.
A spike in mainstream interest in solar, wind and other non-petroleum products has one long-standing retailer struggling to keep up with demand while another is about to launch the first solar products storefront in the area.Sascha Deri, president of six-year-old Hudson-based The Alternative Energy Store, says the market for solar, wind and other energy alternative devices has long been dependent on two niche segments: left-leaning homeowners "with an environmental bent" and "very right-leaning" survivalist customers.
In the past two years, the movement has gone mainstream, says Deri, who started The Alternative Energy Store along with two fellow engineers in hopes of helping the world. AES caters to the do-it-yourself market and offers extensive education material on its website and in print.
Rising oil prices have escalated AES’ already rapid growth, making it difficult for the catalog and e-mail store to keep pace.
AES, which sells worldwide, recently moved from Worcester to a 5,600-square-foot space in a refurbished mill building in Hudson at 43 Broad St. that is double its previous space. It has grown by 50 to 100 percent each year since 1999, and now sells 2,500 alternative products from solar and wind units to compost toilets and micro hydroelectric systems. It had $6 million in sales in calendar 2005, a 65 percent increase over 2004, and has been profitable every year since starting in 1999. But up until 2002, its three founders had not taken any salaries.
AES’ 14-person staff is struggling to keep up with an 80 to 100 percent increase in phone calls since last August. It has added a sales person and expects to employ 28 by the end of 2007.
In October of 2005, he notes, the company fielded 5,000 calls compared with 2,000 in October of 2004. In addition, a shortage of solar panels dates back two years. Silicon manufacturers, uncertain of the market potential of solar panels, didn’t invest in increasing manufacturing until recently. The continued shortage is causing price increases.
But AES is by no means alone in pursuing the alternative energy market. Among the newcomers is Jason Slota, who — along with his dad, Peter Slota — is about to open the Central New England Solar Store on Route 20 in Auburn. They plan to sell solar collectors and wind products as well as pellet stoves and energy efficient appliances. Prices will range from a few thousand up to $20,000.
Slota says his father, a local car salesman, got the idea for the store when he was in Cavendish, VT and visited the CET Solar Store operated by David Bonta. The Slotas formed a partnership with Bonta, who Slota says knows the alternative retail business well.
Jason Slota has a degree in natural science from Worcester State College and has always been interested in energy alternatives. "I think there’s going to be a big market for this in the next few years," he says. Slota plans a Jan. 21 grand opening for his store but says he’s been getting plenty of inquiries ahead of time.
Deri says he hadn’t heard of the new Auburn store but says his company has concluded that the alternative energy market is too small to support a storefront as yet. AES, he says, needs to sell worldwide to be profitable.
Deri predicts that the renewable-energy trend won’t fade away. Gas prices will likely remain high, and demand for fuel in other countries will continue to tax supplies. Also, people are realizing the effects of global warming and the impact of the political climate surrounding energy. And finally, this time, there is an increasing array of affordable products that mean being green requires less of it.
Micky Baca can be reached at mbaca@wbjournal.com
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