Page 258 - BWM March 2013

258 | Business World Magazine | March 2013
sources to sell renewable energy at competi-
tive rates,” says Hinckley. “We’re not spin-
ning our wheels trying to access financing.
Our focus is finding good projects and new
ways to serve and grow our customer base.”
Their business model is unique in several
ways. Agnostic to technology and opportu-
nistic about where they work, the company
comes to the table with financing and the ex-
pertise to handle all aspects of development,
asset management and operational mainte-
nance. All projects are contracted through a
Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) or Resi-
dential Lease structure and as a third-party
participant, they are able to take advantage
of a 30% government tax credit.
Main Street Power’s services are highly
valued in an industry with an oversupply of
product and a demand for turnkey financial
solutions. On average, Main Street Power
saves customers five to twenty percent annu-
ally on utility bills, depending on the size of
the installation. Even on the low end of that
spectrum, Hinckley says five percent savings
adds up to a significant dollar amount over
time.
For their commercial business, small proj-
ects are thought of to be under 1 MW, such
Contra Costa County