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Wes
Voted Ground-Mount Project of the Year in 2015 by Solar Builder Magazine , this 5 MW PV solar plant is perched high on a ridge in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, and will provide reliable electricity for over 500 homes.
Solar powered With new acquisitions, a booming line of business, and an aggressive growth model, Westwood Professional Services Inc. is having its day in the sun.
True enough. But it also helps that the U.S. govern- ment is backing a national push to establish renew- able energy as a viable form of scalable power, and is asking the private sector to do the heavy lifting. In December, Congress approved an extension of the 30-percent Solar Investment Tax Credit, or ITC, through 2019. The credit cycles down begin- ning in 2020 and eventually sunsets at 10 percent. Still, national consensus is that the five-year incen- tive is groundbreaking for solar, as it will benefit vendors, installers, developers, and engineers, and will open up new commercial, utility, and residen- tial markets nationwide. The Solar Energy Industries Association, the lead- ing advocate for solar power, predicts the tax credit will trigger explosive growth in the industry, and that by 2020, solar will support around 420,000 jobs, account for an estimated $132 billion in in- vestments, and produce as much as 100 GW of en- ergy, enough to power up to 20 million homes. “Our solar group has doubled its revenue since 2014 and we are planning for another 50 percent increase in 2016.”
By RICHARD MASSEY Managing Editor
T he firm is on a hot streak, and that’s not hy- perbole. Westwood Professional Services Inc. (Minneapolis, MN) just acquired another firm in its fastest growing region, north Texas. And thanks to a jumbo federal tax credit for renewable energy, the firm is poised to lift off into the stratosphere of its fastest growing market – solar energy. With a spurt of hiring, former employees return- ing to the fold, a brand makeover, and an aggres- sive business model that includes acquisition and expansion, Westwood is on the march and looking to swell its ranks. “We really want the best people in the industry to join our team,” says Paul Greenhagen, Westwood’s CEO and president. “We believe with better people, we get better results.” “We really want the best people in the industry to join our team. We believe with better people, we get better results.”
Paul Greenhagen, CEO and President, Westwood
THE ZWEIG LETTER Febru
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