We are incredibly proud and humbled to announce that GreenSpark Solar was awarded the No. 1 spot on this year’s Top 100 list of fastest-growing companies in the Rochester area by the Rochester Chamber. We are excited about the opportunity to showcase our company to the Rochester business community because as our CEO and Co-Founder Kevin Schulte says, we are “in love with the economy of Rochester, it’s a rebuilding economy, which is the perfect time for us to be engaged.”  

In 2002, five college friends hatched Sustainable Energy Developments, Inc. (SED) in Schenectady, NY. Through evolution and innovation, three of our founders Schulte, along with George McConochie, and Ernie Pritchard relocated and renamed to GreenSpark Solar, which has grown into the largest installer of solar energy in Rochester, Western, and Central NY. This growth includes increasing from just under 30 employees in 2015 to more than 50 staffers currently at our home base in Ontario, Wayne County.

Schulte attributes our company’s growth & recent No. 1 spot</a to two things: “First, we like to say, ‘The future of solar is now,’” said Schulte. “Over the last three years, the cost of solar energy has become competitive with conventional sources of electricity, whether you own a home, a business, or live in an apartment,” Schulte said. “We provide the opportunity for all consumers to go solar and save money.”

“The second is our culture and people. We started as a values-led business in 2002 and became a certified benefit corporation in 2015. We grow because of our values and commitment to the triple bottom line of people, planet, and profit. Promoting ourselves as a member of the values-led business community has presented us growth opportunities in sales, hiring, and in our connection to the community. We have taken a community organizing approach to marketing and engaging our community in a dialogue about the solar opportunity here in Rochester. And our people are amazing, we believe that if you treat your employees right, they will want to come to work, and when you find joy in what you do and who you do it with, you will work harder. And we’re lucky to all be working harder towards a solution to climate change.”

GreenSpark will be honored at The 31st annual Rochester Chamber Top 100 celebration, which includes an awards dinner and pre-dinner reception with vendor showcase at the Joseph A. Floreano Rochester Riverside Convention Center Thursday, November 2. Visit the Rochester Chamber Top 100 page at www.GreaterRochesterChamber.com for more information on dinner tickets, vendor table reservations, and sponsorships.

About the Top 100

To be eligible for the Rochester Chamber Top 100, businesses must be independent, privately held, headquartered in the nine-county Finger Lakes region, and have revenue of at least $1 million in each of the three most recent fiscal years. The program recognizes Rochester’s reputation as a region of innovation spurred by a strong entrepreneurial spirit. The full 2017 Rochester Chamber Top 100 list can be viewed here.