Sigora Solar says N.C. move part of national expansion

When Sigora Solar expanded to Raleigh, N.C., this summer, creating 75 jobs, some observers wondered why the Charlottesville-based solar panel provider would move into another state.

In response, Sigora Solar CEO Logan Landry cites North Carolina’s policies on renewable energy. The state ranks second in the nation with 4.6 percent of its electricity being powered by solar, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).

“A rebate from [Charlotte-based Duke Energy] of 60 cents per kilowatt for residential homeowners who use solar is a big incentive for customers,” Landry explains. 

Virginia currently ranks 17th nationally, with less than half of 1 percent of its electricity coming from solar. Nonetheless, that’s a jump from 2016 when the SEIA ranked Virginia 29th nationally.

Logan hopes Virginia’s legislature and utilities will implement more solar-friendly policies. He insists Sigora Solar isn’t planning to leave the commonwealth. Instead, the company — which also has offices in Richmond and Manassas plus an operations hub in Waynesboro — is embarking on a national growth spurt.

By the end of next year, the company plans to open offices and establish dealerships with roofers and technicians in South Carolina, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Kansas, Missouri, California, Nevada, New York and Illinois.

The company’s 53 employees and 40 subcontractors are implementing its Produce and Reduce package, which runs $25,000-$27,000 for an 8-kilowatt/26-panel system. Savings on energy bills average $150/month, Logan says.

Anthony Bindea founded Sigora Solar in 2011, the same year Landry started his own solar company in Louisiana. Landry later sold his company to the conglomerate Posigen and became Sigora Solar’s CEO in 2016 when Bindea opened Sigora Haiti.

During Landry’s tenure, Sigora Solar’s sales have risen from $5 million to a projected $42 million in 2018.

“Our goal is to ensure a home is not wasting energy, but saving it,” adds Landry “Solar energy maximizes a customer’s savings, often increases property values and is environmentally sound. Solar simply makes sense.”