Electrical Marketing's LiveWire

Electrical industry companies looking to get into solar have a growing array of companies to partner with as the technology’s acceptance spreads. Looks like large commercial real estate firms may join the mix, as one of the largest, CB Richard Ellis, announced it’s launching a new business unit, CBRE Solar.

CBRE Solar says it will offer a broad range of solar energy solutions for clients, including solar power purchase agreements, roof leases, advisory services, project development services, project management services and solar project investment opportunities.

From Sustainable Industries

As the lighting industry begins to shift to solid-state, electrical distributors are finding they have a lot of company in getting the products to market. For example, Arrow Electronics, one of the largest electronics distributors, is pushing hard into the lighting sector. In a release today, the Melville, N.Y.-based distributor announced that it will showcase LED lighting design at Lightfair, May 12-14 in Las Vegas. Details.

Springfield Electric Supply Co., Springfield, Ill., will open a location in Davenport, Iowa, on April 12, according to an article in the Quad City Business Journal. The report said the 22,000-square-foot location will have 14 employees and be the company’s first location outside of Illinois. It’s Springfield Electric Supply’s 13th location.

Electrical contractor Cupertino Electric, San Jose, Calif., has promoted Paul Aggarwal to the new position of vice president of pre-construction services. Aggarwal, who was V.P. of estimating, will have an expanded role setting the strategic direction for the company’s pursuit of new projects and will oversee all pre-construction activities. Aggarwal joined Cupertino Electric more than 20 years ago as an estimator. He has a bachelor’s degree in industrial technology from San Jose University and a master’s degree in business administration from Santa Clara University. Details.

Lighting Services Inc. (LSI) (Stony Point, N.Y.): Gordon Pevzner has joined the company as regional sales manager for the eastern U. S. A graduate of Ohio State University, he brings more than 30 years of lighting and sales experience to LSI, including work in theatrical lighting design, dimming and controls, lighting specification and calculation services. Gordon has been a member of the Illuminating Engineers Society of North America since 1988, serving as president, V.P. and secretary for the Philadelphia IES section. He has also served for two years as the committee chair of Philadelphia Lights regional trade show and for 10 years on the sectional International Interior Design Association (IIDA) awards committee.

Schneider Electric, Palatine, Ill., said it’s ready to produce inverters that comply with new feed-in tariff (FIT) renewable energy regulations in Ontario, Canada. The FIT regulations provide a guaranteed pricing structure for electricity generation from renewable energy sources, allowing development of alternative energy sources without economic efficiency and cost-effectiveness being the primary drivers. The FIT program, being implemented by the Ontario Power Authority, includes requirements for Ontario-based equipment.

Schneider bought Xantrex, Mississauga, Ontario – an inverter manufacturer that previously focused primarily on the off-grid market – in 2008 and made it the focus of its Renewable Energies business unit. Through that facility, Schneider said it will be able to produce three 480- and 208-volt (AC) FIT-compliant models of its Schneider Electric Xantrex GT-series inverters by August 2010, and the rest will be released at the end of 2010 for delivery in 2011. Details.

Fresh from its IPO offering, Generac Holdings Inc., Waukesha, Wis., had some good news for investors about its 2009 fourth-quarter and full-year financials, reporting a single-digit gain in full-year sales and gains in profitability. Details