By R.J. DeLuke
Apex Solar is a company in Queensbury
heavily involved in the growing business of installing
solar systems for a variety of purposes,
as well as integrating systems for people.
While some solar companies have particular
areas of focus, Apex does all manner
of projects — commercial, residential,
industrial — said Todd Baxter, a field
engineer with Apex. He called it a “one-stop
shop” for anyone who wants to “go green”
and use the power of the sun to lower their
electric bills.
Baxter said systems can be installed in
people’s homes with the goal of reaching “net
zero,” which means there are no electric bills.
“The sun is always going to be free,” said
Baxter. “Free fuel is hard to beat.”
The company has a office at 52 Main St. in Queensbury, which was a warehouse but is being converted into offices people can visit. Baxter said with the solar business boon, more companies are coming into New York state, so it’s important to get more involved in marketing and have more of a physical presence.
The principals in the business are Stan Dovert and Greg Demarse. The Main Street building has been in the Dovert family for more than 30 years, once serving as the spot where Dovert’s father ran an HVAC business. The company has seven employees and works with various subcontractors for its projects.
Demarse said the two principals had separate businesses prior to the formation of Apex. Dovert owned Apex Solar Thermal and he owned Demarse Electric when the two decided to take on the new venture.
The owners have also been trained and received certification from the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP), which Demarse said is the highest standard for photovoltaic (PV) and solar heating installation and PV technical sales certification.
Demarse is a NABCEP-certified PV installation professional. Dovert is a NABCEPcertified solar thermal professional.
Apex handles domestic/commercial solar hot water systems and domestic/commercial photovoltaic installation. It does complete system planning and design for its installations. It was founded in 2007.
In 2012, Apex Solar installed a new solar thermal system at Glens Falls Hospital’s Renal Dialysis Center. It was the first project through NYSERDA’s Solar Thermal Incentive Program using solar thermal technology to heat significant quantities of water needed for dialysis treatment.
The solar thermal system, which preheats incoming cold water through 15 rooftop solar panels and a 375-gallon solar water tank before it goes to the boiler, was expected to reduce the center’s water heating fossil fuel consumption by 45 percent.
NYSERDA provided $25,000 from federal stimulus funds toward the $32,500 system. Financial incentives like that are pushing the increasing wave of solar projects, said Baxter.
That was a notable project that received some hype, but Apex also does projects of all sizes. Baxter said it can do “off the grid” work for cabins in remote parts of the Adirondacks that don’t even have electricity. The company has done thermal water heating systems for carwashes and laundromats that are water-intensive.
Baxter said he and Dovert are from the Glens Falls area and Demarse from a bit farther north in the Adirondacks. They’re happy to be doing business in Warren County and have done several projects in the area. But “we’ll go anywhere in New York state,” he said.
Baxter said as solar power becomes cheaper, the state’s incentive program is “ramping down,” but it’s still substantial.” Residences can get cash grants of some 30 percent, with state and federal tax benefits as well.
“Right now, a $25,000 solar system will cost about $7,000 to install,” said Baxter. And, “if you have room for enough solar panels you can get down to net zero” — no electric bill at all. Baxter said Apex also gets involved in solar power purchase agreements for people who don’t have a high tax liability.
Those are financial arrangements in which a third-party developer owns, operates, and maintains the photovoltaic system, and a host customer agrees to site the system on its roof or elsewhere on its property and purchases the system’s electric output from the solar services provider for a predetermined period.
According to the federal Environment Protection Agency, it allows the host customer to receive stable, and sometimes lower cost electricity, while the solar services provider or another party acquires valuable financial benefits such as tax credits and income generated from the sale of electricity to the host customer.
Apex Solar’s website is currently under construction. The company can be reached at 260-1438.
Photo Courtesy of Apex Solar