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On Saturday, December 8 2018 the Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association held its annual meeting in Ypsilanti, MI. Over 150 people registered. At this meeting, it was my sincere pleasure to award GLREA’s 2018 Business Leadership Award to two outstanding local solar businesses.
The GLREA Business Leadership Award is awarded to the business that has significantly furthered the market transformation for renewable energy in Michigan. In 2018, GLREA made a Co-Award to two solar businesses: Mark Hagerty, Michigan Solar Solutions and Jeremy Zinn, Oak Electric Service, Inc for their outstanding service to the Ann Arbor solar community.
In 2016 the City of Ann Arbor formed a partnership with Geostellar to operate a local Solar Club for Ann Arbor residents. Needless to say, Geostellar was less than transparent about their financial stability. Not long after launching the program and taking orders from over 25 residents, Geostellar ran into terminal financial difficulties that kept them from fulfilling their orders and delivering solar systems to Ann Arbor customers who had paid for them. In response, both Oak Electric and Michigan Solar Solutions – at their own expense and, more importantly, business risk – stepped up and assumed the responsibility of making sure Ann Arbor homeowners who paid for solar panels through Geostellar’s Solar Club program received their promised arrays or were otherwise made whole.
Oak Electric and Michigan Solar Solution’s outstanding efforts restored trust and faith in Ann Arbor’s local solar small businesses, the solar industry, the Energy Office and Ann Arbor’s Climate Action Plan-related solar initiatives – all of which are paramount to the success of the city to honor and uphold Paris Climate Agreement Goals. Michigan Solar Solutions and Oak Electric have demonstrated outstanding entrepreneurialism, honor, integrity and, most importantly, business leadership. They are a credit to the solar industry in Michigan and to the Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association in particular.
I respectfully invite all of you to reach out to Oak Electric and Michigan Solar Solutions to congratulate them on their award and, more importantly, to sincerely thank they for their outstanding leadership and service to the citizens of Ann Arbor, Michigan.  Â
Mark H. Clevey, MPA
– Specialist in Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (40+ years)
– Veteran, US Air Force (1967-1972)
–Â Vice Chair, City of Ann Arbor Energy Commission
–Â Vice President, Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association
–Â Member, Washtenaw County Environmental Council
– Co-Founder & Former Treasurer, Michigan Interfaith Power and Light
– Member, Political Committee, Sierra Club (Huron Valley Chapter)
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