How Burnham Energy Came to BE
Thursday, January 21st, 2010Burnham Energy is a wholly owned subsidiary of Burnham Nationwide, Inc., but it didn’t start out that way. Here’s how BE came to be.
In 2007, Greg Sellers was working as an independent consultant advising private and public sector clients. He had a strong interest in renewable energy and was encouraged by several friends to get involved in Silicon Valley’s emerging solar energy industry.
A group of Seller’s colleagues and friends in the solar industry were interested in addressing the industry-wide challenges that were constricting the development of solar energy, and they partnered to found SolarTech, an organization modeled after Semitech, the industry consortium that spurred the development of the semiconductor industry.
SolarTech identified six areas within the solar energy industry that needed to be addressed and subsequently created committees for each subset. Because of his strong background in public/private sector collaboration, Sellers served and ultimately chaired the SolarTech Permitting Committee.
It quickly became obvious to Sellers that there were two permitting challenges: the time and challenges associated with the issuance of a building permit, and the time and challenges associated with the building inspection process. As Sellers worked on solutions to these challenges, he realized that some of these solutions might best be met in the private sector. In July 2007, Sellers founded StablSolar and sought to develop a better way of processing permits and providing inspections.
The first solution was to provide building inspection services for rapidly growing solar companies that couldn’t spare a senior staff person to wait for a building inspector to sign off on a project. While Sellers was familiar with the public sector approval process, he felt that he needed a partner who was more familiar with private section inspections, and thus teamed with Saul Inda to round out StablSolar.
Because the solar industry was new, finding training was a challenge. They signed up for every solar installation or inspection oriented class they could find. When they thought they were ready, they approached a respected solar power installer and asked if they could start providing building inspection services. They negotiated an agreement, learned about their process, and in December 2008 began providing their first inspection services.
That same month, Sellers spoke with the head of the California Solar Energy Industries Association and learned that Grid Alternatives , an Oakland-based non-profit, had just been awarded a statewide contract to install solar projects on affordable homes throughout California, but needed to hire a company to independently verify that the projects had met state requirements. Sellers contacted them and soon negotiated an agreement to provide compliance inspections throughout the Pacific Gas and Electric and Southern California Edison territories, roughly 80 percent of the state.
With signed contracts in hand, Sellers realized that there was a great need for inspection services. He also realized that he needed additional capital in order to grow. But after months of seeking capital in the middle of the worst recession in 80 years, his prospects were not bright.
In May 2009, Sellers participated in the first annual SolarTech Summit where leaders from the industry gather to exhibit the latest developments and technology. The event attracted the attention of Dan Phelps, a partner at a major Silicon Valley venture capital firm. Phelps had recently joined the board of Burnham Nationwide , and was advising Burnham to consider the solar industry as an opportunity for future growth. In Greg and Dan’s discussions, it seemed as though there was an opportunity to partner and grow with the expanding market. After having met with Dan, Greg traveled to Chicago and met with Carson Kyhl, Burnham Nationwide’s CEO. They agreed that a partnership was worth pursuing and together formed Burnham Energy.
Burnham Energy reached its first milestone by participating in the annual Solar Power International Conference in Anaheim. The conference attracted nearly 1,000 exhibitors and over 25,000 participants. Following the conference, Burnham Energy had a clear sense of its client base, and had honed its message.
As part of the Burnham Nationwide family, Burnham Energy has access to a robust IT infrastructure, a national network of municipal and professional contacts, and the resources to identify opportunities and grow with the solar industry. As we develop in 2010, Burnham Energy is poised to become the leading permitting and inspection services provider in the solar industry.