Read Lighting Goes Green with PV Power

Photo courtesy of Matty Schweitzer & Rising Sun Solar.

By Maui Now Staff

Read Lighting Inc. of Maui has gone green with a high-efficiency rooftop photovoltaic system to fuel its power needs with clean, renewable energy.

The system, a 103-kilowatt (kW) SunPower system designed and installed by Rising Sun Solar of Ha‘ikū, will power the company’s 12,000 square-foot showroom in Kahului. It is expected to reduce energy costs by 97% and annually generate enough electricity to power 16 homes.

“I encourage other owners of commercial buildings on Maui to go solar, simply because it makes both economic and environmental sense,” said Jim Read, owner and founder of Read Lighting. “We should all take advantage of this opportunity—and quickly, before it disappears.”

In addition to reducing Read Lighting’s monthly energy costs, the system will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 456,280 tons every year–an amount that would take roughly 88 acres of trees to absorb.

Read’s new system is part of an ongoing trend among Hawai‘i businesses that are switching to green energy sources to reduce high electric bills. Rising Sun Solar is one of many local solar companies recognizing this trend, and providing systems to accommodate it.

“We identified a large need in what we consider to be the commercial mid-market (systems ranging from 50 to 500kW). By doing so, we were able to earn many great projects like Read Lighting,” said Matias Bessaso, co-owner of Rising Sun Solar.