{"id":98754,"date":"2022-06-27T08:00:02","date_gmt":"2022-06-27T12:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/\/?p=98754"},"modified":"2022-06-13T14:30:17","modified_gmt":"2022-06-13T18:30:17","slug":"contractors-corner-got-electric","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/\/2022\/06\/contractors-corner-got-electric\/","title":{"rendered":"Contractor\u2019s Corner: Got Electric <br><span style='color:#404040;font-weight:600;font-size:15px;'>Quality and reputation help Maryland installer grow during downturn<\/span>"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-98757 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/got-electric-1-500x281.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" srcset=\"https:\/\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/got-electric-1-500x281.png 500w, https:\/\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/got-electric-1-368x207.png 368w, https:\/\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/got-electric-1.png 770w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/>Grant Gotlinger was looking for a change of pace after working for 19 years as an electrician in the Maryland area. When his company was approached to assist with the electrical portion of a solar project being installed on top of a Kohl&#8217;s department store, he accepted. That project launched a new beginning for Got Electric in the burgeoning solar industry.<\/p>\n<p>In this episode of the Contractor&#8217;s Corner podcast, Gotlinger talks about how the company has grown and expanded service offerings even in the midst of a tumultuous time for the industry and economy in general.<\/p>\n<p>An edited portion of the interview is below, but be sure to listen to the full podcast for more insight on the struggle of retrofitting solar projects and Gotlinger&#8217;s hope for more integrated new-build solar projects in the future.<\/p>\n<p>Find the Contractor\u2019s Corner podcast on your favorite podcast app. Thank you to this month\u2019s sponsors, <a href=\"https:\/\/scanifly.com\/\">Scanifly<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wago.com\/us\/\">WAGO<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-98755 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/WAGO-Logo-main_use_green_RGB-1000x361.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"166\" height=\"60\" srcset=\"https:\/\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/WAGO-Logo-main_use_green_RGB-1000x361.png 1000w, https:\/\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/WAGO-Logo-main_use_green_RGB-500x181.png 500w, https:\/\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/WAGO-Logo-main_use_green_RGB-368x133.png 368w, https:\/\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/WAGO-Logo-main_use_green_RGB.png 1202w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 166px) 100vw, 166px\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wago.com\/us\/\"><em>WAGO<\/em><\/a>\u00a0<em>pioneers CAGE CLAMP spring pressure connection technology and an extensive range of Interconnect, Interface and Automation solutions for the solar industry.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-97180 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/scanifly.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"59\" height=\"60\" srcset=\"https:\/\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/scanifly.png 198w, https:\/\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/scanifly-150x150.png 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 59px) 100vw, 59px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><em><a href=\"https:\/\/scanifly.com\/\">Scanifly<\/a> is the only drone-based solar software focused on automating the survey and design stages of your solar project&#8217;s life.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/1280437285%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-hL0q7ZFIT4l&amp;color=%23ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;show_teaser=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>SPW: How did you get into solar?<\/h3>\n<p><em>Gotlinger:<\/em> In 2006, we started Got Electric. Around 2008, the economy started to suffer. A company out of New Jersey called us and asked us if we would like to help them put a solar project on top of a Kohl&#8217;s department store in Eldersburg, Maryland.<\/p>\n<p>We ended up getting into solar that way. The [next] project we did was a 280-kW plant for SunEdison back in 2008. And we basically rode the &#8220;solar coaster&#8221; from there.<\/p>\n<p>Getting into solar when I did, it was perfect timing because I&#8217;ve been an electrician since I was 19 years old. When you work in a field for that long, you start to get bored of it. So solar helped with that a little bit and helped us move forward.<\/p>\n<h3>How much of your business is solar now?<\/h3>\n<p>I would say it&#8217;s probably 70% of what we do. We specialize mainly in the C&amp;I space with regard to putting solar on schools, we&#8217;re doing quite a few of those in Virginia. And then we&#8217;ve migrated into doing some utility-sized projects in Pennsylvania and Maryland.<\/p>\n<h3>How do you win a contract to install on a school?<\/h3>\n<p>You have to take into a consideration that a lot of these entities have large safety concerns. We are particularly careful when bidding these projects to understand what those requirements are.<\/p>\n<p>At this point, we&#8217;ve changed how we go about it. We kind of say, &#8216;Hey, look, this is how we want to build these projects. We suggest that you listen to us because we have the experience.&#8217; And that way, we added a valued engineering aspect to the bid process.<\/p>\n<p>Getting into this industry is difficult, but the guys that we have are seasoned and experienced, and it takes a lot of understanding of the environment that you&#8217;re in to be successful at that.<\/p>\n<h3>What has been the most rewarding moment of your career in solar?<\/h3>\n<p>We&#8217;ve had a lot of firsts in this state where \u2014 with the help of EPCs like Standard Solar and, at the time, SolarCity \u2014 we&#8217;ve built some pretty neat projects. We&#8217;ve migrated out of being an electrical contractor only to being an EPC. Opening a second office in Harrisonburg, Virginia, was a big deal for us. We&#8217;ve basically doubled in size and we have close to 50 employees right now, so that was a feather in the cap.<\/p>\n<p>We built a 19-MW ground-mount tracker in Pennsylvania that was our biggest project to date. That was a big accomplishment for us, but some of the most difficult projects are typically not those. The difficult ones are typically the smaller ones that are in a facility that has security that is pretty high, where not everybody can get into the site.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-98759\" src=\"https:\/\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/got-electric-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"770\" height=\"578\" srcset=\"https:\/\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/got-electric-3.jpg 770w, https:\/\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/got-electric-3-500x375.jpg 500w, https:\/\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/got-electric-3-317x238.jpg 317w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 770px) 100vw, 770px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/OuC2ywxg8IA\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Grant Gotlinger was looking for a change of pace after working for 19 years as an electrician in the Maryland area. When his company was approached to assist with the electrical portion of a solar project being installed on top of a Kohl&#8217;s department store, he accepted. That project launched a new beginning for Got&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10031,"featured_media":98756,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1720,3004,1713],"tags":[],"class_list":{"2":"type-post","10":"entry","11":"has-post-thumbnail"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Contractor\u2019s Corner: Got Electric<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In this episode, Got Electric tells SPW about the keys for solar company growth during this uncertain time for the industry and economy.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" 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