A local business on a successful run has relocated its Houston office to a familiar location.
Missouri Sun Solar (MSS) recently moved into the building on South U.S. 63 that since 1967 has been home to ARPCO Pump Service. The space is being shared with ARPCO, which is run by Arthur’s father, David.
Caleb Arthur founded MSS in May 2012. Now the company has 115 employees and offices in Springfield, Columbia, St. Louis, Kansas City and Columbia, S.C., as well as its headquarters in Houston. Arthur said the expansion into South Carolina was due to the state’s solar-friendly policies.
Missouri Sun Solar founder and CEO Caleb Arthur holds an electric bill for just over $25 for the firm’s new location in Houston – the former ARPCO Pump building on South U.S. 63. Arthur said that before the building was converted to solar power, the bill ran about $120 a month.
“They’ve seen the writing on the wall that creating solar incentives creates a huge economic driver,” he said, “with job creation, money coming in and everything else. Last year they passed a law where utilities would pay a portion of their profits to pay for their customers going solar – both homeowners and businesses.
“They also created a state tax credit for solar, so there’s both federal and state tax credits as well as the incentive provided by the utilities.”
Missouri has no state tax credit for solar, and other incentives in the state are few and far between.
“We’re hoping that some of the rebates that used to exist will come back soon,” Arthur said.
MSS installs solar panels on about 70 homes per month all over Missouri. The company is responsible for equipping Greenfield School District in southwest Missouri with the largest public school system solar array in the state, and has recently finished systems on 12 O’Reilly Auto Parts stores.
“We’re the only company in the nation that does O’Reilly stores,” Arthur said. “We’re working on locking up deals on 25 in South Carolina, and we’ll probably end up being their solar power provider nationwide.
“They’ve already given us a list of more than 4,000 stores.”
MSS has four cars in its fleet capable of running off of solar-generated electricity. The firm’s Smart Energy Solutions division has now made more than 90 homes more energy-efficient outside the solar realm, by sealing up duct work, spraying insulation, converting lighting to LED bulbs and more.
“That really helps people who don’t necessarily have the money to go solar right away,” Arthur said. “The average savings for homes where we do this is 30 percent off of their electric bill, just by doing these upgrades.”
Arthur is also president of the Missouri Solar Energy Industries Association (MOSEIA). He said the city of Columbia offers a rebate to people who go solar, and is the only city in Missouri with such an incentive.
“They were the first and are still the only city in the state to do that,” he said. “By doing that they were able to shut down their last coal-fired power plant and they’ve built out some of their own solar farms, and it’s already paid for itself. Now when the sun comes up, they’re generating free electricity for their citizens.
“I don’t know why more cities – including Houston – don’t move in that direction. We’re in the middle of a solar revolution, but it’s hard for people around here to understand it.”
Arthur said his company will soon drop “Missouri” from its name and become simply, “Sun Solar.” For information, call 417-413-1786.
“We’re in the middle of a solar revolution, but it’s hard for people around here to understand it.”
CALEB ARTHUR