Company: Wacker Chemical |
Location: Allentown, Pennsylvania
Message from the President:
2019 and Reflections on the Past 10 Years
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Jim Kurtz, President
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2019 is off to a great start for RER and we hope many of you will join us in making it the strongest yet for solar. We pride ourselves on helping customers maximize the value they derive from going solar. To that end, we want to underscore that
2019 is the final year
your organization can begin a solar project and still benefit from the
full 30% federal tax credit.
This valuable credit will ramp down over the next three years, creating a lot of demand for solar projects this year. The tax credit can make a significant difference in how quickly an array pays for itself, impacting your contracted solar energy rate if you are a non-profit, and what your federal tax obligation could be in 2019, if you are a for profit. As solar projects can take months to develop, now is the time to get started. As long as you have 5% of a project completed by the end of this year, you will qualify for the full 30% ITC.
In addition to gearing up to keep pace with the demands of this growing market, 2019 will also be an opportunity to reflect and share appreciation for
RER's 10th Anniversary.
It has been an incredible journey of strong partnerships and frequent evolutions to help create solutions that serve customer needs in an ever-changing industry.
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"Our partnership with RER Energy Group provides cost-effective power and helps us meet our environmental goals."
Steve Kovens
Executive Vice President
A&A Global Industries |
I didn't plan on going into renewable energy. After many years working on Wall Street and for large marketing companies, I had come back to Reading, PA in 2008 to work with my Uncle's electrical contracting business to find new growth opportunities during the great recession. One avenue that looked promising was solar energy, which was being bolstered by a Federal grant and state incentives, designed to scale up the deployment of solar power by reducing the costs. I committed to getting the incentives message out to as many businesses as I could, motivated by the savings this offered our customers and the difference it could make for their long-term competitive advantage. As the solar business grew, we spun off RER Energy Group in 2009 as an independent company to pursue the opportunity to both, "do good" and "do well" in this burgeoning industry.
A decade later, solar panels prices have
dropped by almost 80%.
This far exceeds the projected goals set out in the initial government programs years ago.
Solar is now the least expensive
long-term source for new energy generation, even setting aside government grants.
During that same 10 year period, RER Energy Group is proud to have accomplished the following milestones amongst others:
- Developed over 40 MW of solar projects for 100 clients throughout North America
- Recognized as #1 Commercial solar developer in Pennsylvania for the fourth consecutive year.
- Ranked in the Inc. 5000 for four years running.
- Ranked in Top 20 US Commercial Solar Development Companies in 2017.
- Consistently featured in the Fastest Growing companies (and three times reached number two) by our own Greater Reading Chamber of Commerce & Industry.
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While we are honored that our hard work has led to these recognitions, the most important acknowledgement comes from our clients. Over the last few years,
nearly 50% of our business has been repeat business
, clients who installed solar with us previously and have since recognized the value to their bottom line and increased their solar footprint. At RER Energy Group, our core principles and how we apply them to our clients has never waned. We have always focused on
Education, Transparency and Superior Solar Savings.
This philosophy has led to our clients' feeling secure in their decision to do solar, and confident in their decision to pursue solar with RER Energy Group.
As we look to keep building on our success, we also plan to celebrate the journey to date throughout this coming year. Our official anniversary is in
September of 2019
and we are looking at that timeframe to host a gathering of our many clients and partners to recognize the work, appreciate our customers and give back to our community. Stay tuned for more details!
Finally, I want to sincerely thank our clients, our employees and our partners who have made this past decade possible.
With appreciation,
Jim Kurtz
President, RER Energy Group
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