You don't become a solar installer/integrator to make millions of dollars or headlines, you do it because you're passionate about solar and want to change the world a little bit, one roof at a time.  Boulder, Colo.-based Astralux is an example of a this type of solar hero. 

_{A 7.6-kilowatt residential solar installation.}

"It's all about financials, solar is a commodity now," said Jesse Malcomb, VP of Biz Dev at Astralux. "Out-of-pocket costs are the real barrier and getting the that cost down is key." Interestingly, while California's SolarCity is working on leasing and imaginative financing for residential applications – PPAs are illegal in Colorado for installations smaller than 10 kilowatts.

Colorado doesn't have the world's greatest solar resources, but the state's utilities do offer some of the nation's highest solar rebates. Xcel Energy offers a $3.50 per watt rebate and Black Hills Energy offers the "nation's highest rebate" – $4.50 per watt, according to Malcomb. Colorado utility Xcel, despite its attractive rebate price, is not that friendly to solar – the firm recently tried to institute an interconnection fee for solar installations (see Ucilia Wang's article here). That effort was withdrawn due to public outcry, according to Malcomb.

While we're talking price per watt, the pre-rebate price to install solar has dropped significantly according to Malcomb – from about "$8/W in 2008 to $6.50/W this year." This makes life difficult for installers and panel manufacturers as the margins start getting tight – but it's good news for consumers.

Astralux actually has its' roots in the science of solar. Its CEO Dr. Randolph (Rande) Treece, has a background in PV materials, as well as sputtering and CVD systems for the deposition of thin-film PV. Despite these advanced materials roots, almost all of the panels the firm installs are crystalline silicon-based in order to maximize energy harvest from the available roof space.

It's always interesting to hear from installers about new products and Astralux' Malcolm had some positive things to say about microinverters.  "We've seen a huge increase in interest in microinverters," he said, adding, "Microinverters really help in installations with variable slopes, multiple orientations, and mixed string size."  He also noted that he has seen microinverter costs come down, and he raved about the monitoring capabilities and ease of set-up with microinverters. He specifically cited Enphase microinverters (see The Coming Disruption in the Inverter Market).

Greentech Media spends a lot of time covering the big guns in solar – Suntech, Sanyo, SunPower, etc. as well as the larger residential installers like Akeena Solar and Solar City – but it's the little guys like Astralux who are the foot soldiers of the solar revolution.

Astralux has installed a little over 1-megawatt of solar since 2008. This video shows off some of the company's fine workmanship.