EightTwenty is less than a year old, but the new solar energy company’s owners are ambitiously plotting to take on what they see as an untapped market.
In just the past few weeks, the company led by the former president of Heartland Payment Systems has bidded to build a headquarters on Urban Renewal land east of Bricktown while partners in the company have proposed taking over construction of The Hill and turn the Deep Deuce development into a zero-energy neighborhood.
Tony Capucille, CEO, and Kent Cissell, president, founded EightTwenty last fall after leaving the fast-growing Heartland now located downtown.
Capucille said the start-up was inspired by his own disappointment with area solar choices when he sought to add panels to his home.
“I got into a deep rabbit hole looking into it,” Capucille said. “We have the sixth most sunlight in the U.S. We have the 30th sunniest city.”
Oklahoma, built on a foundation of oil and gas, isn’t a newcomer to alternative energy, with the U.S. Department of Energy reporting wind power accounting for more than one-third of the state’s net electricity generation.
In comparison, Capucille said, solar power only has about 1.2% market penetration.
“There are 2,500 (solar) homes in the whole state, very few commercial, and one field in Covington,” Capucille said. “When you look at the market, that’s a lot of opportunity.”
A renewed push for solar energy is already underway with the Department of Energy recently releasing a report suggesting solar power, with Congressional support for tax credits, could supply 40% of the nation’s electricity by 2035 — up from the current rate of 3%.
That report concludes to propel solar power as a major source for electricity the industry will need to grow at up to four times its current rate. That would create up to 1.5 million jobs.
EightTwenty currently employs 40 with plans to double its workforce within two years — the same time period it hopes to build a headquarters and warehouse where Sheridan Avenue dead-ends at Interstate 235.
EightTwenty started with acquisition of an existing electrical contractor.
“You can’t just go recruit other solar designers, technicians and engineers,” Capucille said. “What we did first and foremost was to find people competent in working with electricity. We acquired a local electrical contractor to meet the competency required by the construction industry board.”
Solar training followed. Capucille and Cissell started building their team last winter, adding community builder Sandino L. Thompson as chief operating officer, with other partners including developer Andy Burnett. The company hired architects Cory Baitz, formerly director of design at Miles Associates, to oversee design and engineering of solar projects.
“We want to find out how to make it simple,” Thompson said. “One of our goals is to have an integrated system. We have the sales person. We have the designers and the estimators; we have the installation crews and we have the service team. It’s all part of the same team, the same company.”
In their current temporary space at a former Sears warehouse south of the State Capitol, EightTwenty has offices, warehouse, training and display space all together.
The next task for EightTwenty is to educate the public on how solar technology and pricing has changed.
“The price of solar has dropped 70% over the past decade,” Capucille said. “And now the math works in an incredible way. Texas is one of the fastest growing solar energy markets in the country. And that’s just south of the Red River. Why haven’t we gotten into that?”
Some of the new installation methods and materials are promoted as not just architecturally more pleasing but also a way to cut costs with solar energy tax incentives. The company has a pergola on display with panels on top, a method Capucille says could keep the cost down to the pergola itself.
“A lot people think rooftop solar is the primary way of doing it,” Capucille said. “You can do rooftop solar, ground mounted, pergolas, canopies and car ports. That’s a huge thing we’re seeing, is where multifamily developers can rent a car port and use it to offset expenses. You can turn parking lots into assets by producing energy.”
The company is building up a portfolio that includes commercial and residential installation with a range of panels, batteries, charging stations and generators. The company recently started residential installations at Wheeler and is in talks to do larger commercial projects in the growing neighborhood rising up along the Oklahoma River.
They also are targeting another high-visibility downtown neighborhood with their bid to the Urban Renewal Authority to take over construction of The Hill. The team is led by Burnett and Jimmy Irwin, who co-own the restored Pioneer Building, along with Thompson and Capucille.
The company also completed its first Give Solar project with RestoreOKC on Friday, installing solar panels on the non-profit’s eastside urban farmers’ market. Cissell said future Give Solar projects will be coordinated with CityCare and residents who live along the NE 23 Clara Luper Corridor
“For every EightTwenty solar project, we donate a portion of the proceeds to give solar to an organization making a difference with those in greatest need,” Cissell said. “RestoreOKC has been a perfect alignment for our first Give Solar project as this non-profit seeks to deliver restorative justice in an area where we are also planning to establish our first zero-energy headquarters.”
EightTwenty also is establishing operations in Arkansas and Kansas with future aspirations to expand into Texas, Nebraska, Indiana and Kentucky.
“These and other states have been overlooked,” Capucille said. “You think about where solar has happened; east coast, west coast, California, Arizona, Georgia, Massachusetts and New York. The flyover states have been ignored. Large companies don’t come here when these large markets are booming. We have better sun resources; more sunlight days, and we have a heritage in energy. The reason we are starting here is because it’s one of the worst. If it can work here, it can work anywhere.”
