Eric Pasi, Innovative Power Systems, vice president, business development
Eric Pasi is leading a busy year of growth in commercial solar and community solar garden projects as vice president of business development for Roseville-based Innovative Power Systems.
Pasi said the company would install 18 to 20 megawatts of solar power this year, enough to light more than 3,000 average homes. Projects include what Innovative Power Systems says is the state's largest multifamily solar installation, a 145-kilowatt array installed atop a parking structure adjacent to CityVue apartments in Eagan and a community solar garden in Red Wing. The company also has installed three dozen school solar projects.
"We help our clients maximize value from underutilized real estate like roofs, parking areas and farms," Pasi said, with commercial and community solar subscribers receiving bill credits as payment for their portion of the solar energy the project produces. Subscribers typically incur no upfront costs and project financing usually is available.
Innovative Power Systems, celebrating its 25th year in business, has completed more than 1,000 solar installations in Minnesota. Gross sales have risen from $4 million to $40 million since 2014, when Pasi began leading business development.
Pasi said his interest in climate-change solutions helped inspire his career choice. Further inspiration came when he visited Tonga, the south Pacific island state from where his father emigrated in the 1970s.
Pasi joined the company in 2007 after graduating from the University of Minnesota.
Q: What does Innovative Power Systems do?
A: We're a construction and development company that specializes in solar energy. We specialize in commercial solar space primarily in Minnesota and Wisconsin. We work with school districts, municipalities and nonprofit organizations to help them understand the long-term value of community solar.
Q: Why are apartment developers considering solar projects?
A: What we've heard from some of our clients is that not only does that help to maximize revenue on a property, but it also provides a stewardship and marketing opportunity.
Q: How did your trip to Tonga influence your work?
A: The island that my dad is from, I think the highest point is about 10 feet above sea level. There was a major typhoon and the swells had devastating impacts on some of the rural islands. The people there really have had nothing to do with the increasing greenhouse gas emissions that are wreaking havoc in low-lying nations. It's important for me to do whatever I can to help out on that front.
Todd Nelson
