www.fastcompany.com Open in urlscan Pro
151.101.129.54  Public Scan

Form analysis
0 forms found in the DOM

Text Content

FAST COMPANY

Follow
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 

Login
 * Co.Design
 * Tech
 * Work Life
 * News
 * Impact
 * Podcasts
 * Video
 * Recommender
 * Innovation Festival 360IF360
 * Subscribe
 * 
 * FastCo Works
    * AWS
    * Genpact
    * IBM


 * HOMEPAGE


 * CO.DESIGN


 * TECH


 * WORK LIFE


 * NEWS


 * IMPACT


 * PODCASTS


 * VIDEO


 * RECOMMENDER


 * INNOVATION FESTIVAL 360


 * SUBSCRIBE

Help Center
fastco works


 * AWS


 * DELOITTE


 * DEPT


 * ELEVATE PRIZE


 * EY


 * IBM


 * KLARNA


 * VISA


 * FASTCO WORKS
   
   An award-winning team of journalists, designers, and videographers who tell
   brand stories through Fast Company's distinctive lens

FC Executive Board
collections


 * FAST GOVERNMENT
   
   The future of innovation and technology in government for the greater good


 * MOST INNOVATIVE COMPANIES
   
   Fast Company's annual ranking of businesses that are making an outsize impact


 * MOST CREATIVE PEOPLE
   
   Leaders who are shaping the future of business in creative ways


 * WORLD CHANGING IDEAS
   
   New workplaces, new food sources, new medicine--even an entirely new economic
   system


 * INNOVATION BY DESIGN
   
   Celebrating the best ideas in business

Newsletter
Events


 * INNOVATION FESTIVAL

Courses and LearningAdvertiseCurrent Issue
Current Issue
SUBSCRIBE
Follow us:

advertisement

 * 06-06-22
 * 6:00 am


THIS STARTUP HELPS HOMEOWNERS GO SOLAR IN THE STATES WITH THE DIRTIEST ELECTRIC
GRIDS


FOR A MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION, YOU CAN HELP LOW-INCOME HOMEOWNERS GET SOLAR PANELS
IN THE PLACES IT MATTERS MOST.

[Source Image: mathisworks/iStock/Getty Images Plus]
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 

More Like This
Why the cryptocurrency price collapse offers hope for slowing climate change
Climate inaction could cost the world $178 trillion
Why Australia has had only one mass shooting since 1996
By Adele Peters3 minute Read

If you want to put solar panels on your roof in the U.S., it’s cheaper in some
states than others: In Massachusetts, the payback period might be as short as
five years. In Missouri, it could take more than 20 years for the energy savings
to offset the initial investment—and unsurprisingly, Missouri has fewer less
solar power panels installed than Massachusetts does.




A startup called Midday Tech aims to speed up solar adoption in places like
Missouri by giving homeowners grants to help buy panels, funded by subscribers
who want to fight climate change. For the people who subscribe, it’s an
alternative to buying carbon offsets from programs that can be harder to track
or may not necessarily work well—like forest protection programs that don’t
always save trees. Solar is “something that can reduce emissions now,” says
Midday Tech founder Sophia Westwood. “The science is proven. It’s scalable.”



[Screenshot: Midday Tech]The startup, a public benefit company, is working first
in Missouri because the state still gets 70% of its electricity from coal, even
as other states are moving more quickly toward renewables. “When we ran the
numbers, it’s four times more impactful to put up solar in Missouri than in
California,” Westwood says. They calculated that putting up a single rooftop
system in Missouri reduces emissions roughly as much as planting and growing
nearly 2,000 trees for 10 years. And when one homeowner installs solar power,
studies show that neighbors nearby are more likely to do the same thing.



In a pilot program that is just beginning in the St. Louis area, Midday
partnered with a local solar installer to find families that were interested in
solar power, but wouldn’t have purchased it otherwise. They’re working with two
families now, who will get solar panels installed in July. “We went to our
installer partner, and we asked, ‘Hey, who has actually decided not to go solar?
And let’s go back to them and say, if we could make this a few thousand dollars
cheaper, would that change your mind?'” Westwood says.

advertisement



The states that have the best incentives for getting solar power, including
utility programs that pay customers for the solar energy that they generate,
typically aren’t the states that have the dirtiest grids now. In Missouri,
though a few utilities offer rebates, many don’t. “There are a lot of people
I’ve talked to that really want to support renewable energy, but they also need
to have it make sense financially for them to be able to do it,” says Jim Dixon,
a project developer with StraightUp Solar, a solar installer in the St. Louis
area partnering with Midday. “And oftentimes, they’re a little surprised that
the payback is as long as it is.” For one of the first families in the pilot,
the payback period for their $22,500 installation would have been 22 years; a
$5,000 grant helped cut six years off that payback period. (The federal solar
tax credit is an additional incentive.)

The startup plans to expand first in Missouri, with a focus on working with
lower-income homeowners for half of its installations. A 2020 study found that
incentives based on income are the most effective way to increase solar
adoption; some lower-income homeowners are on the cusp of being able to afford
solar. Low-income households can also benefit more from savings on energy costs.
When it later expands to other states, the startup will continue to focus on
places where electric grids have the biggest carbon footprints. “Even within a
state, the carbon intensity can vary depending on the utility,” Westwood says.
“We’re really trying to narrow in on places that are not necessarily friendly
towards solar, and where it’s a very carbon intensive grid.”

Subscriptions range in price, starting at $15 per month. Subscribers will be
able to see from satellite photos that the panels they’ve supported have been
installed. “We’re trying to just find really concrete, tangible ways that people
can feel like they’re making a difference, and fight some of the climate anxiety
that it’s impossible not to have,” she says.





ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Adele Peters is a staff writer at Fast Company who focuses on solutions to some
of the world's largest problems, from climate change to homelessness.
Previously, she worked with GOOD, BioLite, and the Sustainable Products and
Solutions program at UC Berkeley

More

advertisement



FEATURED VIDEO

1
/
7
Why Drew Barrymore joined Grove Collaborative as a Sustainability Advocate
Read More

123K
3



Video Player is loading.
Play Video
Unmute

Duration 7:32
/
Current Time 0:04
Advanced Settings

Loaded: 8.82%


0:04
Remaining Time -7:28
 
FullscreenPauseUp Next

This is a modal window.



Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.

TextColorWhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyOpaqueSemi-TransparentBackgroundColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyOpaqueSemi-TransparentTransparentWindowColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyTransparentSemi-TransparentOpaque
Font Size50%75%100%125%150%175%200%300%400%Text Edge
StyleNoneRaisedDepressedUniformDropshadowFont FamilyProportional
Sans-SerifMonospace Sans-SerifProportional SerifMonospace SerifCasualScriptSmall
Caps
Reset restore all settings to the default valuesDone
Close Modal Dialog

End of dialog window.

Settings

Playback Speed
Normal
Video Quality
Auto (270p)
Replay the list
 * Powered by AnyClip
 * Privacy Policy

TOP ARTICLES





Why Drew Barrymore joined Grove Collaborative as a Sustainability Advocate

advertisement


Today's Top Stories:
01

co-design
Here’s the real reason why all of the crypto logos look alike
02

technology
What we know about Javier Olivan, Facebook-parent Meta’s new COO
03

news
Apple and Harry Styles echo iconic iPod ads with a bright new campaign for
AirPods
04

news
Doja Cat, Taco Bell, Mexican pizza, and the making of a marketing unicorn
05

co-design
What will the metaverse actually look like in 5 years? This studio may have
cracked it
More Top Stories:
PLAY Fast Company Top Articles: Video Settings Full Screen About Connatix
V165210 Read More Read More Read More Read More Read More Read More
Sesame Workshop’s new multi-language initiative helps displaced Afghan and
Ukrainian children
READ MORE
Sesame Workshop’s new multi‑language initiative helps displaced Afghan and
Ukrainian children 1/1 Skip Ad Continue watching after the ad Visit Advertiser
websiteGO TO PAGE




advertisement

technology
I was offered an intimate look at Rent the Runway’s turbulent year. Here’s what
happened
news
630 feet below the Earth in China, an ancient forest blooms at the bottom of a
sinkhole
ideas
He quit Google to work on climate change. Now, he’s helping others do the same
thing
news
Oreo continues its LGBTQ+ allyship despite the culture war against ‘woke’
companies
leadership
How Natalie Portman and her Angel City FC cofounders are changing the game for
women’s soccer
entertainment
K-pop stans may have caused the Dallas Police Department’s surveillance app to
crash
co-design
The surprising psychology of fonts
news
Klarna’s laid-off workers are the latest casualty of tech’s cult of personality
co-design
6 ways Apple updated iOS to be ready for a mixed reality metaverse
technology
Sexual assault is already a problem in the metaverse, and a new report suggests
it will get worse
co-design
Pulse oximeters are racist, and that likely cost lives during COVID-19
co-design
Why RISD students are designing spaces for people to safely do drugs
technology
4 Gmail productivity boosters you’re probably not using yet
co-design
Ikea just redesigned one of its most popular products. Here’s why
news
Why are so many high-income Americans living paycheck to paycheck?
advertisement

advertisement

news
Disney is finally taking a more vocal stand against racist Star Wars fans
news
Could harsh parenting make children hyperactive? Here’s what behavioral research
says
news
Are you wealthy? Here’s how much money Americans say they need to live
comfortably
ideas
No soil, no problem: Reshaping agriculture to be more carbon friendly
co-design
18% of offices are vacant. Here’s a brilliant idea for how to use that space
leadership
Six Verbs That Make You Sound Weak (No Matter Your Job Title)
news
How to watch Apple’s WWDC 2022 keynote today: iOS 16 and more expected
leadership
Exclusive: Modern Fertility announces a new campaign featuring female athletes
leadership
Millennials are driving the Great Resignation. They’re also working harder
because of it
technology
In Armenia’s biotech boom, remarkable women are leading the way
magazine
These innovative projects are changing the health industry
leadership
A psychologist explains why negativity dominates your daily thoughts, and what
to do about it
news
IRS audits are on the rise: Your chances are now double if you’re in this income
range
technology
Here are the programs that will help you finally learn to draw
advertisement



IMPACT

Impact


THIS STARTUP HELPS HOMEOWNERS GO SOLAR IN THE STATES WITH THE DIRTIEST ELECTRIC
GRIDS

Impact


SHOULD WE PROTECT NATURE FOR ITS OWN SAKE? FOR ITS ECONOMIC VALUE? BECAUSE IT
MAKES US HAPPY? YES

Impact


3 CHARTS THAT EXPLAIN THE U.S.’S NEW RECORDS IN RENEWABLE ENERGY GENERATION


NEWS

News


AMERICAN DEMOCRACY IS UNDER THREAT. BUSINESS LEADERS MUST ACT TO ENSURE SAFE AND
FAIR ELECTIONS

News


HOW TO WATCH APPLE’S WWDC 2022 KEYNOTE TODAY: IOS 16 AND MORE EXPECTED

News


WHY RAPPER MACKLEMORE SAYS CREATING HIS GOLF APPAREL BRAND IS A LOT LIKE MAKING
MUSIC


CO.DESIGN

Co.Design


THIS GORGEOUS TABLE WAS MADE FROM FALLEN ASH TREES THAT WERE SALVAGED IN
BALTIMORE

Co.Design


DESIGNERS LOVE THESE BAGS MADE FROM TRUCK TARPS. NOW YOU CAN CREATE YOUR OWN

Co.Design


AFROFUTURIST SUN RA’S HUMBLE PHILADELPHIA HOME IS NOW A HISTORIC LANDMARK


WORK LIFE

Work Life


WHY A FLEXIBLE WORKPLACE SHOULDN’T MEAN WE IGNORE INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYEE
EXPERIENCES

Work Life


HERE’S WHAT’S BEHIND THE NEW LABOR MOVEMENT

Work Life


COULD REDEFINING THE ENTRY-LEVEL WORKER BE THE ANSWER TO THE GREAT RESIGNATION?

 * Advertise
 * Privacy Policy
 * Terms
 * Notice of Collection
 * Do Not Sell My Data
 * Permissions
 * Help Center
 * About Us
 * Site Map
 * Fast Company & Inc © 2022 Mansueto Ventures, LLC
 * 






FAST COMPANY

Follow
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 

Login
 * Co.Design
 * Tech
 * Work Life
 * News
 * Impact
 * Podcasts
 * Video
 * Recommender
 * Innovation Festival 360IF360
 * Subscribe
 * 
 * FastCo Works
    * AWS
    * Genpact
    * IBM


 * HOMEPAGE


 * CO.DESIGN


 * TECH


 * WORK LIFE


 * NEWS


 * IMPACT


 * PODCASTS


 * VIDEO


 * RECOMMENDER


 * INNOVATION FESTIVAL 360


 * SUBSCRIBE

Help Center
fastco works


 * AWS


 * DELOITTE


 * DEPT


 * ELEVATE PRIZE


 * EY


 * IBM


 * KLARNA


 * VISA


 * FASTCO WORKS
   
   An award-winning team of journalists, designers, and videographers who tell
   brand stories through Fast Company's distinctive lens

FC Executive Board
collections


 * FAST GOVERNMENT
   
   The future of innovation and technology in government for the greater good


 * MOST INNOVATIVE COMPANIES
   
   Fast Company's annual ranking of businesses that are making an outsize impact


 * MOST CREATIVE PEOPLE
   
   Leaders who are shaping the future of business in creative ways


 * WORLD CHANGING IDEAS
   
   New workplaces, new food sources, new medicine--even an entirely new economic
   system


 * INNOVATION BY DESIGN
   
   Celebrating the best ideas in business

Newsletter
Events


 * INNOVATION FESTIVAL

Courses and LearningAdvertiseCurrent Issue
Current Issue
SUBSCRIBE
Follow us:

advertisement

advertisement

 * 06-06-22
 * 6:00 am


THIS STARTUP HELPS HOMEOWNERS GO SOLAR IN THE STATES WITH THE DIRTIEST ELECTRIC
GRIDS


FOR A MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION, YOU CAN HELP LOW-INCOME HOMEOWNERS GET SOLAR PANELS
IN THE PLACES IT MATTERS MOST.

[Source Image: mathisworks/iStock/Getty Images Plus]
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 

By Adele Peters3 minute Read

If you want to put solar panels on your roof in the U.S., it’s cheaper in some
states than others: In Massachusetts, the payback period might be as short as
five years. In Missouri, it could take more than 20 years for the energy savings
to offset the initial investment—and unsurprisingly, Missouri has fewer less
solar power panels installed than Massachusetts does.

advertisement

advertisement



A startup called Midday Tech aims to speed up solar adoption in places like
Missouri by giving homeowners grants to help buy panels, funded by subscribers
who want to fight climate change. For the people who subscribe, it’s an
alternative to buying carbon offsets from programs that can be harder to track
or may not necessarily work well—like forest protection programs that don’t
always save trees. Solar is “something that can reduce emissions now,” says
Midday Tech founder Sophia Westwood. “The science is proven. It’s scalable.”



[Screenshot: Midday Tech]The startup, a public benefit company, is working first
in Missouri because the state still gets 70% of its electricity from coal, even
as other states are moving more quickly toward renewables. “When we ran the
numbers, it’s four times more impactful to put up solar in Missouri than in
California,” Westwood says. They calculated that putting up a single rooftop
system in Missouri reduces emissions roughly as much as planting and growing
nearly 2,000 trees for 10 years. And when one homeowner installs solar power,
studies show that neighbors nearby are more likely to do the same thing.



In a pilot program that is just beginning in the St. Louis area, Midday
partnered with a local solar installer to find families that were interested in
solar power, but wouldn’t have purchased it otherwise. They’re working with two
families now, who will get solar panels installed in July. “We went to our
installer partner, and we asked, ‘Hey, who has actually decided not to go solar?
And let’s go back to them and say, if we could make this a few thousand dollars
cheaper, would that change your mind?'” Westwood says.

advertisement

advertisement


The states that have the best incentives for getting solar power, including
utility programs that pay customers for the solar energy that they generate,
typically aren’t the states that have the dirtiest grids now. In Missouri,
though a few utilities offer rebates, many don’t. “There are a lot of people
I’ve talked to that really want to support renewable energy, but they also need
to have it make sense financially for them to be able to do it,” says Jim Dixon,
a project developer with StraightUp Solar, a solar installer in the St. Louis
area partnering with Midday. “And oftentimes, they’re a little surprised that
the payback is as long as it is.” For one of the first families in the pilot,
the payback period for their $22,500 installation would have been 22 years; a
$5,000 grant helped cut six years off that payback period. (The federal solar
tax credit is an additional incentive.)

The startup plans to expand first in Missouri, with a focus on working with
lower-income homeowners for half of its installations. A 2020 study found that
incentives based on income are the most effective way to increase solar
adoption; some lower-income homeowners are on the cusp of being able to afford
solar. Low-income households can also benefit more from savings on energy costs.
When it later expands to other states, the startup will continue to focus on
places where electric grids have the biggest carbon footprints. “Even within a
state, the carbon intensity can vary depending on the utility,” Westwood says.
“We’re really trying to narrow in on places that are not necessarily friendly
towards solar, and where it’s a very carbon intensive grid.”

Subscriptions range in price, starting at $15 per month. Subscribers will be
able to see from satellite photos that the panels they’ve supported have been
installed. “We’re trying to just find really concrete, tangible ways that people
can feel like they’re making a difference, and fight some of the climate anxiety
that it’s impossible not to have,” she says.


advertisement

advertisement

advertisement

advertisement



ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Adele Peters is a staff writer at Fast Company who focuses on solutions to some
of the world's largest problems, from climate change to homelessness.
Previously, she worked with GOOD, BioLite, and the Sustainable Products and
Solutions program at UC Berkeley

More




VIDEO

How this CEO is changing the way we bake
Bread Alone is the first commercial bakery in the US to Operate on 100%
renewable energy bakery. The family run business have been baking with organic
grains since our first loaf in 1983. This is Fast Company's Changing the Game
More Videos


0 seconds of 4 minutes, 51 secondsVolume 0%

Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
Keyboard ShortcutsEnabledDisabled
Play/PauseSPACE
Increase Volume↑
Decrease Volume↓
Seek Forward→
Seek Backward←
Captions On/Offc
Fullscreen/Exit Fullscreenf
Mute/Unmutem
Seek %0-9
Next Up
Disney defends Star Wars actor against racist trolls
03:24
facebook twitter Email
Linkhttps://www.fastcompany.com/video/how-this-ceo-is-changing-the-way-we-bake/YuVE84iS?jwsource=cl
Copied
Auto180p1080p720p406p270p180p
Live
00:00
04:52
04:51








 



IMPACT

Impact


THIS STARTUP HELPS HOMEOWNERS GO SOLAR IN THE STATES WITH THE DIRTIEST ELECTRIC
GRIDS

Impact


SHOULD WE PROTECT NATURE FOR ITS OWN SAKE? FOR ITS ECONOMIC VALUE? BECAUSE IT
MAKES US HAPPY? YES

Impact


3 CHARTS THAT EXPLAIN THE U.S.’S NEW RECORDS IN RENEWABLE ENERGY GENERATION


NEWS

News


AMERICAN DEMOCRACY IS UNDER THREAT. BUSINESS LEADERS MUST ACT TO ENSURE SAFE AND
FAIR ELECTIONS

News


HOW TO WATCH APPLE’S WWDC 2022 KEYNOTE TODAY: IOS 16 AND MORE EXPECTED

News


WHY RAPPER MACKLEMORE SAYS CREATING HIS GOLF APPAREL BRAND IS A LOT LIKE MAKING
MUSIC


CO.DESIGN

Co.Design


THIS GORGEOUS TABLE WAS MADE FROM FALLEN ASH TREES THAT WERE SALVAGED IN
BALTIMORE

Co.Design


DESIGNERS LOVE THESE BAGS MADE FROM TRUCK TARPS. NOW YOU CAN CREATE YOUR OWN

Co.Design


AFROFUTURIST SUN RA’S HUMBLE PHILADELPHIA HOME IS NOW A HISTORIC LANDMARK


WORK LIFE

Work Life


WHY A FLEXIBLE WORKPLACE SHOULDN’T MEAN WE IGNORE INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYEE
EXPERIENCES

Work Life


HERE’S WHAT’S BEHIND THE NEW LABOR MOVEMENT

Work Life


COULD REDEFINING THE ENTRY-LEVEL WORKER BE THE ANSWER TO THE GREAT RESIGNATION?

 * Advertise
 * Privacy Policy
 * Terms
 * Notice of Collection
 * Do Not Sell My Data
 * Permissions
 * Help Center
 * About Us
 * Site Map
 * Fast Company & Inc © 2022 Mansueto Ventures, LLC
 * 





search by queryly Advanced Search



WE VALUE YOUR PRIVACY

To deliver the best possible experience, we and our partners use techniques such
as cookies to store and/or access information on a device and provide
personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and
product development. Precise geolocation and information about device
characteristics can be used. Personal data such as network address and browsing
activity may be processed.

You may click to consent to the processing described above or review options and
make granular choices. Some processing may not require your consent, but you
have a right to object. Your preferences will apply to this site only. You may
change your mind at any time by visiting our privacy policy.


review options accept & continue