In the spring of 1985 after a few years of helping install small stand alone photovoltaic systems in southern Vermont and western Massachusetts and with the experience of living with a stand alone PV system, Berkshire Photovoltaic Services was born.
Attending the 1983 , First National Conference on Photovoltaic Applications at MIT was and still remains the benchmark event for the success of BPVS. That conference was supported by NESEA and was where I met the PV pioneers who remain friends and colleagues to this day.
The sense then was that PV would rapidly commercialize and reach ‘grid parity’ by the year 2000. We’re still getting there but are much closer.
It was not until 2001 that BPVS could depend on PV work for 100% of our gross. For many years we provided instrumented energy conservation retrofits to commercial, institutional and private customers throughout the region with occasional stand alone PV installs. We began installing grid connect systems in 1996.
Its been gratifying to see the technology gain acceptance. We are very grateful to our customers. Their support and referrals have built our reputation; we’re proud their PV systems are withstanding the tests of time.
That 25 year measure of efficiency, reliability and safety in our design and installation work is a continuum. The 50th anniversary of BPVS in 2035 is on track.
Posted By: Chris Derby-Kilfoyle . (2010-03-26)