After more than 10 years and 20 megawatts (MW) of installed solar power, Southern Energy Management(SEM) is going back to its roots. The Morrisville-based company announced today that it has sold its industrial and large commercial solar services business unit to PowerSecure International, allowing SEM to focus exclusively on residential and small commercial customers. As a result of this partnership, PowerSecure will operate the business unit as a separate subsidiary and SEM will retain part ownership of the new company, which is being called Southern Energy Management-PowerSecure (SEM-PS).
“We’ve always had a two-part mission to help reduce emissions that lead to climate change and build a sustainable Triple Bottom Line company that values people, planet and profit. Over the last few years, as we’ve had the opportunity to work on bigger projects farther afield with our large industrial and commercial clients, it’s been challenging on our resources given the difficult capital markets,” SEM president and co-founder Maria Kingery said. “We are enthusiastic about this new partnership, which provides our industrial and large commercial team with a well-established, well-funded platform for growth, as well as complimentary service offerings to deliver even more value for customers. At the same time it allows the residential and small commercial team to focus on serving our individual clients with the utmost care and attention.”
Southern Energy Management first made a name for itself in the Triangle by helping people weatherize their homes and installing small residential photovoltaic (PV) and solar water heating systems. The company quickly started winning awards from organizations like the EPA Energy Star program and the City of Raleigh for its sustainability efforts; within a few years it opened regional North Carolina offices in Charlotte and Wilmington, as well as one in Greenville, South Carolina. In each new region, the business began by building up local residential and small commercial clientele. Additionally, SEM has a long history of working on energy efficiency and green building verifications with builders, and looks forward to continuing and building those relationships.
A nationally recognized leader in solar power, energy efficiency and green building, SEM made the successful jump to utility-scale solar projects over the last few years. “Southern Energy Management’s strong capabilities are the right fit for our business,” PowerSecure CEO Sidney Hinton said. “The Southern Energy Management team has earned a strong reputation as a gold standard provider of solar energy systems – with a blue chip list of utility partners and customers. We are thrilled to have them join the PowerSecure team.”
The new company is already off to a strong start, and will begin work on a 4.5 MW system later this month. Any large-scale projects already under contract with SEM will be handed off seamlessly to SEM-PS, ensuring clients will continue to work with virtually all of the same team members with whom they have already established relationships.
“We’re proud of the work our team has done to pioneer the solar industry here in North Carolina and the Southeast, and we’re very glad that SEM-PS will continue to serve the market for big-time solar projects. With PowerSecure’s resources and relationships, this partnership gives our commercial team more opportunity than ever before,” SEM CEO and co-founder Bob Kingery said. “And at the same time, we want to grow SEM into a bigger, better version of how we started off. There’s a myth that solar power and energy efficiency are out of reach for most homeowners and small businesses. That’s not true. It is absolutely achievable, and we can’t wait to throw all our effort into helping those types of customers make smart energy choices.”