Third-Sun was started in 2000 by a husband and wife, Geoff and Michelle Greenfield. It all came about after they built their own solar powered home on a piece of land that didn’t have utility power. They threw out the idea of paying electric and other utility bills forever by just living off the solar grid. Michelle had said that Geoff and she had always believed in the Gandhi quote, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Their business has grown from the root mission of making the world a better place. The name they had picked has an intriguing storyline behind it as well. They have two children already and one night after they had put them to bed while conversing they had said they wanted to raise this business like another child. Hence, their “Third Son,” only they were selling solar power so it was changed to “sun”. The booming business has just reached its $1 million revenue mark in 2007 and has been involved with over 150 installations. Some of the more notable installations include: the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, Denison University Library, the Carriage House at the Governor’s Mansion, and even the Lausche Heating Plant that provides heat to all university buildings at Ohio University (Third-Sun).
When asked about what people are thinking when they decide to purchase from Third-Sun, Michelle answered by saying that they are concerned about the environment, looking for a way to help. Awareness has been raised over the last few years about what we are doing as a society to the environment when we heat and cool our homes by burning coal and other fossil fuels (Green Energy Ohio). People who have the same mindset as the Greenfields are willing to sacrifice a little money in order to make the world a healthier place to live for everybody. What this business is trying to do is to get more people to think with this mindset by leading through example with solar power grids and wind turbines. They are demonstrating that burning fossil fuels are not the only way of producing power that provides utilities in homes and businesses.
Michelle responded firmly that Third-Sun’s main goal was to promote the sole idea their company was founded on, “green energy.” She proceeded to explain that they were going to achieve this by making and installing products that produce clean electricity. The reason this is important is because 90 percent of Ohio’s power is derived from coal burning (Greenfield). Their employees are also encouraged to have the same green mindset that the company is trying to promote. Michelle says they achieve this by re-using and recycling everything they can from paper, ink, even construction materials. Third-Sun also strives to provide a workplace that has a very healthy environment for its employees. Despite costs, they provide health benefits and make sure that the working area is fundamentally sound even with most jobs requiring employees to travel to other businesses and homes.
Along these same lines, according to Mrs. Greenfield, the toughest issue they face is that they provide service to such a large geographic area. The service they provide requires a ton of driving, so to cut down on the vehicle impact they have come up with several solutions. First, they reduced the geographic area where they do complicated or really small projects. Second, they do as much as they possibly can do with a customer on the phone or the internet (i.e. using satellite images and photos to plan projects). Lastly, they have purchased the best mileage vehicle and strive to complete projects in one trip. Michelle had mentioned the possibility of using bio-fuels or grease for fuel to cut down on the impact that vehicles have.
The thought that kept rolling through my head while researching and even interviewing was, “Where does the money come from to start something like this?” Michelle admitted that a lot of their funding comes from the federal and state governments who have recently shown changes in policy that give incentives to renewable energy. For years and years government has provided the fossil fuel industry with tax credits and incentives. They haven’t built their industry purely on market alone. The change has caused larger businesses to invest in solar power, states to enact legislation to favors cleaner power, and raised the awareness of climate change in the public.
Michelle chose to focus on the financial difference between solar power and utility power when presented with the question. She answered honestly when she said that solar power is much higher than the cost of utility power in Ohio. However, the price of utility power is artificially low because of the deregulation in 1999. All is not lost because possibly by the end of this year caps are set to come off and rates for utility power could rise as high as 70 percent. If this is true then the two markets will appear to be much closer in price. There is a bill going through the Ohio House right now that will require utilities to get 12.5 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2025 (Greenfield). It’s already a law in 25 other states and is another way of increasing the demand for solar power. Michelle concluded our interview with an interesting statement, “When we started it seemed more like a lifestyle “mom and pop” business, but we have such a huge potential to make a positive impact that we have started to think bigger and realized that we can make an even better impact if we grow this business wisely.”
Appendix
How did your company Third Sun get its start?
What is current condition do people have in mind when considering purchasing from you?
What are some goals of the Third Sun Company?
What are you currently doing to achieve these goals?
Why do you feel like the service you’re providing is needed?
Who receives the perks from these needs when fulfilled?
How has the success of the business been thus far?
What are the toughest parts of your job and what are you doing, or plan to do, to make it easier?
Who plays large parts in your business such as funding and support?
What are some local examples that have purchased from you? (Bigger companies, certain parts of towns, etc.)
How does solar and wind power measure up to the traditional electric power?
Works Cited
About Us. Third-Sun. 24 Feb. 2009.
http://www.third-sun.com/aboutus.html
Bell, Jeff. "Third Sun's Revenue Line Is Rising With Interest In Renewable Energy." Green
Energy Ohio. 7 Sep. 2007. Business First of Columbus. 24 Feb. 2009
Greenfield, Michelle. Personal Interview. 25 Feb. 2009.
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