Installer Spotlight: Solar Power of Oklahoma

J. W. Peters never intended to be in solar.

“The truth is that it was 100% by accident,” the president of Solar Power of Oklahoma (SPO) said in a recent conversation with Enphase.

“But in hindsight, it was all meant to be.”

In 2017, J. W. co-founded SPO with CEO Kevin Jones to help homes and businesses reduce their utility costs and environmental impacts through sustainable, innovative solutions. As proud native Oklahomans, both men wanted to build a business that was rooted in Oklahoma and dedicated to serving its communities.

Six years later, SPO has evolved to be one of Oklahoma’s premier local solar installers, with thousands of residential and commercial systems installed across the state. It was ranked the #1 Solar Contractor in Oklahoma by Solar Power World from 2019 to 2021, and it won The Oklahoman’s Readers’ Choice Award for the Best Solar System Company in 2020 and 2021. Headquartered in Oklahoma City, the company is locally owned and operated, and it remains dedicated to expanding access to the lasting financial benefits of renewable energy solutions.

Cohesive customer service

As a state historically anchored in oil and gas, Oklahoma had only a nascent solar market back in 2017. While the SPO team hustled to keep the business afloat in its early years, this period was formative in shaping the core values that would be foundational to the company’s success later on.

“We could see the trend of solar growing nationally,” said J. W. “Even though Oklahoma was slow to the game, we knew its solar market would take off soon. So we took that time to build out our processes, develop thoughtful strategies, and establish a solid foundation to build the company to where it is today.”

In particular, the team focused on perfecting a cohesive customer experience. Within its first year, the company made the transition from sub contracting installs with other companies to executing the entire customer journey—from consultation to installation and beyond—with its own in-house teams.

“We wanted to ensure that our customers received the highest quality systems and service,” J.W. continued. “It’s about providing the best possible solution for our fellow Oklahomans, and we knew our team had the skill and knowledge to deliver on that.”

A strong working partnership

To complement its excellent in-house technical services, SPO offers systems built with Enphase IQ Microinverters, which deliver superior performance, reliability, and flexibility.

“Today, 95% of our installs are Enphase systems, and all have performed at or above the predicted performance levels,” J.W. noted. “Our customers love the redundancy that the rest of the system can keep producing if a micro goes down. And the fact that we can monitor the system down to the module level is so important for us to keep our systems running smoothly, or to quickly identify and fix a problem for a customer.”

“It's also great that Enphase systems have the capability to scale,” he added. “The way net metering works in Oklahoma, solar owners are limited to a 75% energy offset. I’ve seen some companies oversize systems at 120% offset, which means higher costs and lower return on investment for the customer. With Enphase, we can focus on providing the customer with a system sized for the best possible return on investment today, because we know we have the flexibility to add more panels down the road.”

Beyond Enphase’s product offerings, J.W. and his team appreciate that Enphase has worked to foster an engaged, supportive, and collaborative partnership with SPO and its other installer partners. “Our working relationship with Enphase has been very successful for the most part, because we align with how we treat our customers,” J.W. said. asserted. “Enphase sees our customers as their customers, and they also treat us installers as their customers.”

“We love that Enphase is continually trying to make their products better and more cost-effective. It means that we can keep offering the best solutions to Oklahomans.”

Dedication to fostering community

Thanks to its commitment to installing high-quality systems and providing quality customer service, SPO has seen year-over-year growth. The last couple of years were particularly fruitful—in 2021, it saw a whopping 275% increase in installs, and the SPO team tripled from 22 to 67 employees. Throughout the company’s rapid expansion, J.W. and Kevin have prioritized fostering a culture that supports employee development and wellbeing, and they are immensely proud that their efforts have paid off. Last year, one of the top newspapers in Oklahoma selected SPO as one of the Best Places to Work in the state, an award that honors companies that make their employees a priority.

“It’s important to us that we provide a good working environment, a place for our people to learn and grow,” J.W. told us. “Our growth strategy continues to be expanding to areas of the state where we can reach new customers, while also ensuring a good work-life balance for our onsite crews.”

As a true testament to SPO’s commitment to its employees and communities, it has pledged to give away half of its 2023 profits through its new Stay Sunny Giving Program. 25% of the company’s profits will go to SPO employees through a profit-sharing program, and the rest will be donated to provide discounted or free solar systems to those that might not otherwise be able to afford them.

Do what you love

Today, J.W. can’t imagine doing anything else, and he’s excited to keep working to increase access to renewable energy across his home state.

“We feel really blessed to be doing this work,” he said. “We feel like we’ve been given a new lease on life to serve our fellow Oklahomans—while also having a lot of fun.”