Have you seen the Amicus Solar Cooperative logo on our website and wondered what it means for Alternative Energy Systems’s customers?

Alternative Energy Systems Inc. joined Amicus in 2013, and is one of more than 50 member-owners comprising this group of independently-owned solar companies. Being a part of Amicus empowers these installers so that they can compete with the big, national solar companies. All have established themselves as outstanding in their field, and are dedicated to providing their region’s customers the best quality solar options available. As the only member-owner in the North Valley, AES is proud to be a part of this select group of forward-thinking people, as well as getting to work with the most experienced solar companies in the country.

Our solar customers benefit directly from this membership as we receive better negotiated pricing thanks to the cooperative’s group buying power. And AES benefits by participating in the essential community provided by the alliance of many companies across the country, who bring their best business practices and experiences with them for all of us to share, while remaining independent. This shared knowledge base also directly benefits our customers.

In 2017, Amicus helped to found the Clean Energy Credit Union for US solar companies, helping members to keep costs competitive with financial assistance through lower-interest loans.

For the same reasons, AES became member-owners of Amicus O&M, another spin-off from this amazing group that focuses on the service aspect of solar, an aspect that many installers have ignored or avoided. This group provides high-quality operations and maintenance (O&M) support for aging systems of all types.

Last summer, AES benefited from our Amicus relationship by connecting with another member-owner, Luminalt, who helped us to gain access to large-scale textile recycling. As the North Valley has limited options for commercial-scale textile recycling, we were grateful to Luminalt for the assistance so we could recycle our stock of old, worn-out uniforms, supporting our environmental stance by not sending them to the landfill.

More recently, many Amicus members generously helped AES employees affected by the Camp Fire, several of whom were displaced or lost their homes. AES set up a fund for accepting monetary donations from our employees as well as the community to help those affected. The generosity of the Amicus donors made a difference for our employees who’d lost everything, while also benefiting our greater community. Cooperative members are currently working together to fund and ship a solar-powered trailer for community use as a charging station in the event of future energy instability.

There are so many benefits to being part of the Amicus Solar Cooperative. Because of Amicus, we are truly “Stronger Together.”