North Coast Solar

At North Coast Solar, our commitment to you as a customer is equal to our commitment to reducing the toll that conventional energy production and overuse take on the beauty and integrity of our natural world. Together with a passionate belief in the many positive advantages of solar technology, this dual commitment has remained firm through decades of service. Brian HinesSo our mission is to first help our customers reduce energy use, by the simplest and least expensive method possible. We will never try to sell you a system you don’t need, and we will cheerfully share the information you need to make good decisions for you or for your business. North Coast Solar’s principal, Brian Hines, has a degree in Environmental Studies and Political Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara, an MBA degree from Golden Gate University, is a certified energy manager (CEM) through the Association of Energy Engineers and is a Certified Green Building Professional (CGBP). Mr. Hines also has experience in the solar manufacturing sector having worked on the launch of the first glazed polymer solar collector developed by FAFCO in Menlo Park in 1979. The FAFCO IV solar collector was designed for solar pool heating in windy areas and also to provide warm water to water source heat pump systems. The FAFCO IV solar collector was used in a very innovative solar project at Steinhart Aquarium in San Francisco where they provide warm water for the tropical fish tanks.

In 1977 Mr. Hines went to work for his Advance Solar Energy class professor who owned a solar contracting firm in Santa Barbara. In the Solar Energy class one of the topics of study was the concept of Global Warming and the importance of there being a balance between the amount of solar energy being absorbed by the earth’s atmosphere and the amount rejected. The concept of the “greenhouse effect” created by fossil fuel CO2 emissions was alarming even 40 years ago to those aware of it. Mr. Hines has since worked for some of the leading solar contracting firms in California including serving as Project Manager and President of The Solar Center in San Francisco, an employee owned firm named one of the 10 best companies to work for in America by Mother Jones magazine. North Coast Solar began as a part time energy consulting business in 1984 and became a full time energy consulting and contracting firm in 1990. Solar photovoltaic (PV) technology was starting to become more efficient and affordable but only for remote sites where grid power was not available. By the late 1990s however, solar electric systems for homes and businesses on the grid started to become economically feasible with incentives offered by the State of California combined with the 30% federal solar tax credit. North Coast Solar installed some of the first solar electric systems on the PG&E grid during this time including the first solar electric system on the grid in Lake County, Tiburon and Oakland, California. Solar PV installation in Pacific HeightsOver the years North Coast Solar has built many excellent relationships with other leading contracting firms in the Bay Area including roofing, electrical, mechanical contractors and electrical, mechanical and structural engineers capable of designing and building the most ambitious and innovative projects. We are proud to say that we installed one of the first solar PV installations in San Francisco’s exclusive Pacific Heights neighborhood. North Coast Solar has been a leader in the Bay Area solar industry as the price of solar electric systems has dropped significantly since the year 2000. We look forward to helping our customers build even larger and more innovative energy conservation and generation projects for years to come as California seeks to achieve one of the most aggressive carbon pollution reduction goals in the Country, a 40% reduction in carbon emissions below 1990 levels by 2040.