HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014 10-22 At 3M, solar power becomes an employee benefit STAR TRIBUNE ,StarTribune OCl 1 1 2014
At 3M, solar power becomes an
employee benefit
What:New benefit offered at some companies
to assist employees who want to install home
Article by:David Shaffer solar panels to generate electricity.
Star Tribune Early adopters:3M Co.,Cisco,Kimberly-
October 22,2014-6:58 AM Clark,National Geographic Society.
Administrator:Geostellar,an online solar
Solar power is the newest employee benefit. services company(geostellar.com).
Services:Screening for solar suitability,
In the first program of its kind,3M Co.is one of three design,financing,discount pricing on
large U.S.companies that are offering assistance to equipment and installation,assistance on utility
rebates.
employees who want solar panels at their homes.
The program,called the Solar Community Initiative,
promises discounts of 30 to 35 percent on solar-panel projects,start-to-finish help on planning and
installation and,ultimately,a reduction in a homeowner's carbon footprint and electricity bill.
"Renewable energy is an interest to employees,we know,and we want to to increase our engagement with
employees around sustainability in general,"said Keith Miller,3M strategic adviser on global sustainability
who helped develop the new benefit for the company's more than 35,000 North American employees.
Maplewood-based 3M quietly introduced the program to employees in Minnesota last week,and it will be
formally announced on Wednesday at a solar power conference in Las Vegas.
Two other companies are offering the benefit:Cisco,the San Jose,Calif.-based computer networking
company,and Kimberly-Clark,the maker of personal care products based in Irving,Texas.All together,the
three companies have about 100,000 employees eligible for the program.
At 3M and the other companies,human resources intranet sites will supply employees a solar discount
code and link them to the program's administrator,Geostellar,an Internet-based solar services company
founded in 2010 in Martinsburg,W.Va.
Relying on Geostellar's Web-based tools,employees type in a street address for an initial assessment of
their home's solar potential.This pioneering tool uses 3-D landscape imagery to calculate sun and shade
on 70 million homes.Geostellar also offers other solar-development services,including automating some of
the design,permitting and logistics.
Geostellar CEO David Levine said a key part of the employee benefit program is lowering solar's cost
through bulk purchase of solar panels and special pricing with installers.
"With bulk purchase,we have gotten the cost of equipment way down,"Levine said in an interview."We
have gotten the cost of installation way down.It is like Amazon,the price you get online should be
substantially below the quote you would get from a local installer."
A boost to solar services
After a homeowner decides to build a solar project,Geostellar also will handle applications for utility solar
rebates,help with financing and arrange the final design and installation."We handle the whole thing from
end to end,"Levine said.
Levine said Geostellar makes a small fee on each solar transaction.3M and other participating companies
don't pay Geostellar to run the program. Miller of 3M said the corporation's costs consist of the time
commitment by employees like him and modest expense for the intranet portal and benefit information.
Geostellar has received two U.S.Energy Department grants,totaling$1.25 million,to work on ways to
bring down the cost of solar energy.To set up the employee solar program,the nonprofit World Wildlife
Fund worked with 3M and other employers to solicit and review proposals from solar-services companies
like Geostellar,Miller said.
Now that Geostellar has set up the program,Levine hopes other large companies will decide to offer it to
employees.He said the start-up company is poised to add call-center capacity as interest grows.
Levine said he had projected that about 1 percent of the three companies'employees would take
advantage of the program,resulting in about 1,000 new solar installations across North America.
At an employee event last week at 3M,326 people signed up for a preview. Not all of them are likely to sign
contracts for solar projects.Even so,the initial interest"was way more than we expected,"he said.
"I think it is going to be very popular,"Levine added.