By SUNRUN | PRESS RELEASE — Sunrun, the largest dedicated residential solar company in the United States, today announced the opening of a new solar design engineering center in Irvine, Calif., where customized system designs are created for customers across the country.
Over the course of 2015, the design center will generate at least 50 permanent jobs in the Irvine community, ranging from system designers to technical support.
According to the recently released Solar Foundation’s National Solar Jobs Census 2014, the solar industry has been adding jobs at a rate 20 times faster than the overall economy, meaning in 2014, one out of every 78 new jobs was created by the solar industry. More than 54,000 California residents currently work at solar companies, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association.
At the ribbon cutting event today, Mayor Steven Choi expressed his support for the new facility: “I am glad Sunrun has chosen Irvine for its Design Center. We strive to attract companies that are leading the way into the future.”
The Irvine facility will be an important resource for meeting consumer demand for solar. Once a homeowner decides to use solar power for their home, Sunrun collects their data and sends it to the design center. Sunrun design consultants help the homeowner get the most value from solar power with Sunrun BrightPath, the industry’s first end-to-end automated software platform for managing home solar projects – from selecting hardware to pricing, scheduling, permitting, installation and beyond. The design consultant ensures the solar system meets the homeowner’s personal energy needs and savings goals, efficiently and accurately.
“There is increasing consumer demand for home solar as more Americans look for cleaner and more affordable energy solutions,” said Ethan Miller, senior vice president of operations at Sunrun. “I’m excited to celebrate the opening of our new facility. It demonstrates Sunrun’s focus on simplifying the process of going solar, which ultimately leads to a better customer experience.”
As the first company to introduce solar as a service to American homeowners, Sunrun has reinvented the way people buy electricity. Sunrun gives homeowners access to the smartest energy source – sunlight – and takes care of everything so families can focus on more important things, like putting savings back in their pockets each month.
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