In the wee hours of the morning of April 14, when it was forecast to be a record-crushing 95 degrees, I met my intern Erica in the parking lot of the Big Y in Palmer. Together, we carpooled to Somerset, on Massachusetts’ south coast for a 9 a.m. meeting with Peter Humphreys.

Humphreys is the president of North Atlantic Corp., which has been his family’s business for seven generations. Its Somerset location, Horner Millwork, is the town’s largest employer. In the 300,000 square foot plant, workers drive electric forklifts carrying lumber, control sophisticated robots that make doors seemingly float through the air, and man an arsenal of tools and specialized equipment that allows Horner to custom-manufacture and distribute windows, doors, kitchens and stairs destined for homes and businesses across New England and the world.

Most of the facility’s many machines get their energy from Horner’s rooftop solar panels. In fact, this solar array is why Erica and I went to Somerset in the first place.

We met Peter in his office above the Horner Millwork saleroom on what happened to be his birthday, which we learned because of the mylar balloons bobbing near his desk. Standing at his desk, Peter explained his decision to install solar panels on the roof. He showed us the energy savings projections that his solar installer, Solect Energy, had worked up and said they’ve been spot on so far. Further, he explained that going solar was key to keeping his business competitive.

After walking through the paperwork, Peter offered to give us a tour of the solar roof. After climbing up two sets of ladders, the three of us stood atop the building, looking across a sea of 4,250 solar panels shining in the sun.

Peter explained that the solar array installed in 2017 was designed at the time to meet 90% of the electricity needed to operate the plant, and there was room for even more panels.

Both in his office and on the roof, Peter was overwhelmingly positive about the impact so far of “going solar.”

Then, he started talking about the future. Peter explained that in recent years Horner had added new robots and a third shift of factory workers. With these investments, energy demand increased, and the existing solar array now only meets 75% of the plant’s electricity needs. Together with his solar installer, Peter developed a plan for building two more solar arrays on Horner’s roof.

But then, his expression darkened. He submitted his proposal to National Grid, the local utility, more than a year ago and is still waiting for a decision. He added that he still didn’t know if the fee to connect the new solar arrays to the electric grid would cost $0 or $200,000 and said that when making multi-million clean energy investment decisions, businesses such as his need faster review times and more transparency around price and cost.

Peter added that a family-owned business such as his might be willing to make values-driven decisions with longer payoffs, but that investor-owned companies are much more likely to be spooked by that kind of financial uncertainty and will demand shorter payback periods.

According to Solar on Warehouses, a report that I helped author this spring, Peter’s facility in Somerset is one of at least 7,376 warehouses and distribution centers in Massachusetts.

As Massachusetts considers where to put clean energy infrastructure, the roofs of warehouses are an obvious location: They are big, flat, and sunny — perfect for solar installations.

The report found that if we put solar panels on the roofs of all Massachusetts’ warehouses and distribution centers. we could generate enough electricity to power 379,000 households — more than enough to meet the energy needs of all the households in Boston and Springfield combined.

Today, too much of this solar potential is unrealized.

To change the dynamics, more businesses need to follow North Atlantic Corp.’s lead and commit to putting solar panels on their facilities. And leaders at all levels of government need to support solar energy adoption by cutting red tape to facilitate permitting and grid connection.

When it comes to solar’s bright future, the big, flat, sun-kissed roofs of warehouses are just begging to be put to this crucial use.

Johanna Neumann, of Amherst, has spent the past two decades working to protect our air, water and open spaces, defend consumers in the marketplace and advance a more sustainable economy and democratic society. She can be reached at columnists@gazettenet.com.]]>