Saratoga Business Journal

Magazine Names Apex Solar Power One Of The Top Solar Installing Companies In The U.S.

August 3, 2017

This is one of the solar roof installations done by Apex Solar Power. The company employs 100 workers and says it installed 7,879,000 watts of solar power in 2016.
Courtesy Apex Solar Power

Local solar installer Apex Solar Power was named one of the top solar contractors in the U.S. by Solar Power World magazine.

Apex was 136 out of 500 solar companies ranked by the magazine.

The Top Solar Contractors list is developed by Solar Power World to recognize the work completed by solar contractors across the country. Produced annually, the list celebrates the achievements of U.S. solar developers, subcontractors and installers within the utility, commercial and residential markets.

The list was released on July 25.

“The 2017 Top Solar Contractors list features 500 of the best solar contractors in the United States,” said Kelly Pickerel, managing editor of Solar Power World. “From solar hotbeds on the coasts to the up-and-coming Midwest solar market, every installer adding even the smallest solar array to the grid is making a positive impact on our communities. We’re proud to recognize these companies and their efforts to bring solar power to U.S. homes and businesses.”

The U.S. solar market installed more than 14,700 MW of solar in 2016, nearly doubling the capacity installed in 2015, according to the magazine. For the first time ever, solar was ranked as the No. 1 source of new electric generating capacity additions brought online throughout the year.

GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) predict the cumulative U.S. solar market to nearly triple in size over the next five years. By 2022, more than 18 GW of solar photovoltaic capacity will be installed annually, and Apex Solar Power will continue to be a major player in adding solar to the grid, company officials said.

‘Boat N RV Condos’ Uses Solar Roofing Panels To Save On Electricity, Derive Other Revenue

August 3, 2017

Boat N RV Condos has installed solar roofing at this Saratoga Springs facility.
©2017 Saratoga Photographer.com

By Jill Nagy

Boat N RV Condos, an indoor storage facility for boats, RVs, and similar recreation equipment, has gone solar at all three of its facilities—in Saratoga Springs, Glens Falls and Latham.

The most recent project, in Saratoga Springs, was completed in July. The Glens Falls facility went solar last February.

Concord Pools in Latham, the company’s flagship facility, has had solar panels on its roof for 10 years.

The buildings have “massive roof square footage,” said Michael Giavanone, who heads the company.

He said it seemed like a “socially responsible approach” to making use of that area. “We want to do everything we can to improve the environment.”

The company is renting its rooftop space to Monolith Solar on a 20-year lease, said Giavanone. That company supplied and installed the equipment and maintains it. The panels produce enough energy to keep the host facility in electricity and Monolith feeds the rest back into the grid.

Through the agreement, Boat N RV gets free electricity as well as rent payments from Monolith. Monolith, in return, gets paid for the energy it returns to the electricity grid. The boating storage areas “are not high-demand facilities,” Giavanone said, so the bulk of the power produced on the rooftops goes into the grid.

Business Report: Protect Your Business From Data Breaches

August 3, 2017

Rob Shauger is director of sales and development at ConfiData.
Courtesy ConfiData

By Rob Shauger

If your business handles personally identifiable information, it is important to keep the information secure in order to protect your clients.

This includes patient records, employment records, loan applications, tax forms, medical forms, credit card applications, and more. Security breaches are a real and large threat to businesses of all sizes and across all industries.

The average total cost for companies who suffered a data breach of more than 50,000 records cost an average of $10.3 million. Think your company is too small to have a data breach really effect you? Think again. According to an IBM study, data breaches involving small businesses can cost a staggering $4.5 million.

Data breaches small or large also tarnish your company’s hard-earned trustworthy reputation, making it harder to gain new clients even years down the road.

While many people associate data breaches to cyber terrorists and online hackers, the truth is often times data breaches occur from improper handling or disposing of personal documents. Thieves target paper documents and use the information to open fraudulent accounts.

Information can also be recovered from computer hard drives that have been improperly disposed of. Simply throwing away hard drives without proper destruction could leave your business (and clients) at considerable risk. If the thief has access and the knowledge, they can wreak havoc on a business.

Do you rip up credit card offers when they come in the mail? If your answer is no because you shred credit card offers, good for you. If you just toss them straight into the recycling, you might want to rethink your policy. Just like seemingly innocuous junk mail can be a threat to your personal identity, a lot of papers floating around your office might be a threat to your client or patient confidentiality.

Pay Hikes Are Not Enough For Employers To Retain Workers; Employee Shortages Exist

August 3, 2017

By Maureen Werther

Finding and retaining good employees is a challenge in today’s business world. As the unemployment rate continues to drop and the economy continues to improve, the demand for qualified workers continues to grow.

“Recruiting is about as competitive as I’ve seen it in a long time,” said James Marco, president of Saratoga Human Resource Solutions. He said for companies to attract and retain the best workers, they must offer more than just a competitive wage and benefits package.

“You’ve got to have a value proposition. If you try to buy loyalty through pay raises, you’ll eventually reach a point of diminishing returns. You have to incorporate a ‘cultural’ component into your work environment,” said Marco.

He said people are looking for a “safe” workplace – one that fosters a culture of problem-solving rather than assigning blame. He stressed the need for managers and supervisors to develop positive relationships with their staff.

“The command and control models just don’t work anymore,” said Marco, citing as an example one of his clients, who greets everyone one of his employees each morning. While that may seem like a small, even trivial gesture, it goes a long way toward creating the kind of culture of trust and teamwork that is so important in today’s workplace.

As workers become increasingly more mobile, establishing the culture of mutual respect and teamwork is more critical to getting and keeping the best people.

John Kuznia, CPA, SPHR, and owner of Truman Solutions in Saratoga Springs, said his clients are finding it hard to get the right people in the right seats.

Business Report: New York’s Paid Family Leave

August 3, 2017

Noreen DeWire Grimmick is a partner with the Hodgson Russ law firm.
Courtesy Hodgson Russ

By Noreen DeWire Grimmick, Esq.

An important piece of new legislation was executed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in April 2016 providing paid family leave.

Paid leave will be phased in over a 4 year period beginning in Jan. 1, 2018. To be eligible, employees must work a minimum 26 consecutive weeks prior to applying for paid leave.

Paid leave may be taken to provide care to a family member suffering from a serious health issue; to bond with a child during the first 12 months after birth, adoption, or foster care placement; or to attend to obligations because a spouse, parent, or child is on active duty or has been notified of a pending call into active duty in the U.S. armed forces.

Notably, this law does not provide coverage for an employee’s own serious health condition, but that event would likely trigger already existing disability insurance coverage and is, of of course, subject to FMLA under federal law.

Phasing in of these new regulations begins in 2018. Employees who qualify for paid leave under the act will be entitled to 50 percent of their pay (with a pay cap equal to 50 percent of the statewide weekly average pay) for a period of 8 weeks. When fully phased in, in 2021, eligible employees will be entitled to 12 weeks of paid leave at 67 percent of their weekly pay (capped at 67 percent of the statewide average weekly pay).

Intermittent paid family leave is also available under the new law.

This legislation will impact more employers in New York state than the FMLA. All employers who fall under the scope of the state Workers Compensation Law will be obligated to provide paid family leave. New York employers may either self-insure for paid leave, or they may purchase an insurance policy from their disability benefits carrier to finance paid leave. This program is financed similarly to the way that workers’ compensation benefits and disability benefits are financed, through payroll deductions.

Business Report: Don’t Ask

August 3, 2017August 3, 2017

Michael Cruz is president of Lighthouse Advisors LLC in Queensbury.
Courtesy Lighthouse Advisors LLC

By Michael Cruz

Hiring the right people for your organization is critically important, right? And, interviewing people is the way we determine if they are the people you want.

Typical questions often include – Where do you see yourself in 3 years? How do you handle conflict? What are your strengths (or weaknesses)? These are terrible questions. Don’t ask them.

I often work with clients on hiring issues. We work on ways to ensure new hires are a 90 percent fit to their company. Good interviews take preparation. Few people take the time to prepare to ask purposeful questions. Before we figure out what to ask, we need to understand why you should not ask the questions above.

Where do you see yourself in three years? What do you want them to say? How does their answer tell you much about them?

City’s Solar Energy Park On Former Landfill Site Should Be Completed By Summer’s End

August 3, 2017

By Maureen Werther

A solar energy project at the former landfill on Weibel Avenue in Saratoga Springs is expected to be completed by the end of summer.

The solar energy park is part of NYSERDA’s Cleaner Greener Communities program. It was presented to the City Council in 2012 by Sustainable Saratoga and approved by the council in 2014.

The park is supported by a $1.46 million NY-Sun grant the city received in 2013 through NYSERDA. It suffered a series of setbacks, stemming in large part from the bankruptcy of the original vendor, Sun Edison. Following that, Onyx Renewables, headquartered in New York City, stepped in to design, engineer and build a two-megawatt solar array on the landfill.

According to Brian DeMaio, project manager for Onyx Renewable Partners, the solar array will be comprised of approximately 8,000 solar panels atop the former landfill, spanning 43 acres.

Michele Madigan, city Commissioner of Finance, spearheaded the project and said that a ribbon-cutting ceremony is being planned for some time in the coming weeks.

The city signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) committing it to purchasing all the electricity generated from the park at a fixed price over a 20-year period, according to documents from Sustainable Saratoga.

The solar park is the first phase of a large initiative to develop greener, sustainable energy projects around the city, which will benefit consumers and the city itself, as well as being environmentally responsible, said Madigan.

NYSERDA Makes Program To Help Cities Understand PILOT Solar Project Agreements

August 3, 2017

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) has developed a Solar PILOT Toolkit to assist the state’s municipalities in understanding and negotiating payment-in-lieu-of taxes (PILOT) agreements for solar projects larger than 1mw, including community solar projects.

Based on feedback from local government officials and solar industry representatives, NYSERDA developed the toolkit in response to the need for greater information on PILOT agreements as solar projects develop throughout the state, officials said.

The Solar PILOT Toolkit provides a framework for local taxing jurisdictions to negotiate payment agreements with solar developers. In addition to their clean energy and job-creation benefits, solar developments can yield significant financial value to municipalities through PILOT agreement payments, according to NYSERDA.

The toolkit addresses the lack of information on property tax issues around solar development and is designed to enable municipalities to work with developers to negotiate PILOT rates that benefit the community and make the projects financially attractive to developers and their customers.

“The Solar PILOT Toolkit will serve as a vital resource to help municipalities encourage the development of community solar projects and make sure they benefit the entire community,” Alicia Barton, president and CEO, NYSERDA said. “Large-scale solar projects provide a great opportunity for communities across the state to take advantage of clean, renewable energy while advancing Gov. Cuomo’s Reforming the Energy Vision strategy.”

New York state is undertaking significant changes in the way it generates and delivers electricity. As one example, community solar projects allow electric customers who are not able to install solar panels on their properties to own or subscribe to a portion of a community solar project, and benefit from the cost savings of clean generation.

Owners Of Granite & Marble Works Donate 189 Acres Of Open Land To Skidmore College

August 3, 2017

Michael and Margaret Roohan, owners of Granite & Marble Works in Wilton, have donated to Skidmore a land tract of 189 acres in Greenfield.

The land is adjacent to land tracts of 200 acres donated by the couple in 2010, and nearly 120 neighboring acres donated in 2014. All parcels are undeveloped woodland in Greenfield, located near Skidmore College’s North Woods property that lies behind the College’s Van Lennep Riding Center.

“We feel strongly about supporting Skidmore College. Its people and programs add so much to the quality of life in Saratoga Springs, and we are very pleased to have the opportunity to give back to the college,” said Michael Roohan.

The Roohans said they feel Skidmore’s creative, multidisciplinary approach to using this land for teaching, research, and recreation assures the most valuable use for the greatest number of participants and assures the education of future generations in the care of natural surroundings.

Showcase Of Homes Will Feature 14 Builders, 18 New Homes During Three Weekends This Fall

August 3, 2017

The 2017 Saratoga Showcase of Homes Committee announced its line-up of 14 builders participating in the annual new home tour event.

Celebrating 22 years of exceptional homes, the event will take place on the weekends of Sept. 16-17, Sept. 23-24 and Sept. 30-Oct. 1.

The final lineup of builders in this year’s event are: Abele Builders, Bella Home Builders, Belmonte Builders, Bonacio Construction, Herbinger Homes, Heritage Custom Builders, La Femme Home Builders, Marini Homes, McPadden Builders, Pigliavento Builders, R.J. Taylor Builders, Saratoga Builders, Whitbeck Construction and Witt Construction.

There will be a total of 18 new home locations on display in Saratoga County. Tickets to visit all these home are $20.

Early-bird tickets are available online and anyone purchasing tickets by Sept. 1 will automatically be entered in a special drawing for a one-night stay at the Saratoga Casino Hotel, dinner for two at Morton’s Steakhouse ($200 gift certificate) and $100 spending cash.