Asheville – Doug Ager founded Sugar Hollow Solar with his cousin, Phelps Clarke, in 2010. They grew up working on Hickory Nut Gap Farm in Fairview and spent a lot of time playing in the woods, “and learned to really love the land and wanted to do right by the planet.” Ager explained, “I see myself as a builder, and I want to build something that has a meaningful impact.”
The business started as a vertically integrated, one-stop solar shop. The cousins handled the sales, design, and installation of the solar panels. Ager mentioned that they used to take on smaller projects, including off-grid solar, but now they focus solely on integrating solar and batteries into entire buildings. While a large part of the solar industry is engaged in building utility-scale solar projects, Ager stated that Sugar Hollow is “focused on distributed energy, or helping individuals or commercial property owners ‘go solar.’”
Sugar Hollow employs 65 people and services Western North Carolina as well as Upstate South Carolina. Although the majority of their projects have been on single-family homes, an increasing portion of their work is in the commercial sector with businesses, developers, and community leaders. Some of their recent projects include Brevard Music School, Hunter Subaru, the Asheville Jewish Community Center, St. James Episcopal Church, and Evergreen Charter School.
“Solar energy is clean energy, and it’s a low-maintenance technology because there are no moving parts.” It involves no grimy oil changes, no fumes, and no wear and tear. Ager explained that Sugar Hollow has a service department because solar cells only generate voltage for electrical systems. They work with standard electrical systems that can fail. For that reason, Sugar Hollow’s panels come with a 25-year manufacturer warranty.
One challenge people face in going solar is that the world has built infrastructure around “the old way of doing things,” with large power plants generating power for many houses. Solar, on the other hand, provides homeowners with the opportunity to generate their own power and push it onto the grid. “Batteries are providing a pathway for stabilizing the future energy grid,” said Ager.
The dealbreaker for many potential customers is the upfront installation cost, especially now when interest rates are high. Tax credits have been crucial in promoting the technology. Yet, “demand from homeowners hasn’t risen to the point that entrepreneurs are scrambling into the field and innovating the economies of scale that will make solar more affordable.” However, demand from data centers and solar farms has the potential to change this.
Unfortunately, “in America, entrenched businesses are often slow to change.” Utilities, for example, have large lobbying arms to legislate against lateral entry into their space. “And so rooftop solar installers find themselves joining other industry groups to make sure their voices are heard.” Ager mentioned that he was in Washington, DC recently doing just that.
These days, businesses are all affected by uncertainties at the federal level. Ager noted that tariffs were initially a major concern, but over the last few years, the industry has onshored much manufacturing, which has helped stabilize supply chains. What remains concerning is the hesitancy created in the market by proposals to eliminate tax credits. Several bills are circulating; one would sunset incentives at the end of the year, while another would terminate them 180 days after the bill’s passage. “Activities at the state level are also underway to slow the transition to renewables.”
Ager is trying to persuade leaders that if they are intent on eliminating incentives, they should at least create a reasonable phase-down to prevent developers from abandoning projects due to uncertainty about whether incentives will be withdrawn. With a bittersweet tone, Ager remarked that this would be a good time for people considering whether and when to go solar to make the plunge while these incentives are still in place.