Solar Racking and Mounting
While most folks might be thinking about the solar panels themselves — Adam spends his time thinking about the racking and creating a support system to hold the panels in place.
“A fun fact about solar racking; each component for one solar rack is made with its own manufacturing process. We looked at every different piece individually. How are we going to make this component? What's the smartest way to manufacture it? Some pieces are made on machines we purchased, and some of them are made using proprietary equipment we designed and made in-house,” Adam explains.
Adam says the solar market has quickly become an important part of Alexandria Industries business model —making up around 10 percent of its work. A decade ago when he started with the company, he says solar wasn’t even on their radar.
Alexandria’s experience with solar follows a statewide trend. The number of jobs in solar has steadily increased over the years ― and between 2016 and 2017 the industry experienced an explosive 48 percent job growth according to the Solar Foundation’s 2017 Jobs Census Report.
“I was thrilled to be a part of the solar business as we brought it on. It's been great to see the number of jobs being added to your local economy when you bring on new markets like this into the company,” he says. Adam adds that he gets a lot of pride out of working with the solar industry and seeing what it brings to his company.
In 2017, Minnesota saw 4,256 people employed by the solar industry – up from 2,872 in 2016. This rapid growth in renewables represents a job growth 11 times faster than the statewide average (2017 Clean Jobs Midwest Report). In fact, Adam is one of more than 57,000 Minnesotans working in the clean energy sector.
Adam says watching the transformation the clean energy sector has made on Alexandria Industries has been eye opening. He is looking forward to its continued growth and industry changes that will ideally make for a better, brighter future for his family.
“I'm looking forward to seeing solar and the entire clean energy sector continue to grow into the future. I believe there will be new ideas brought to the table in ten years that we can’t even imagine right now. I may not see the full benefit of these changes, but my children and future generations will. It is exciting knowing that I helped get that started here at Alexandria Industries.”