Independent Solar Advisory For Complex Decisions
You’re not looking for a sales pitch. You’re looking for the right team to navigate a complex decision
SSG helps building owners, nonprofits, advisors, and referral partners understand whether solar is worth pursuing — and how to structure it correctly.
Buyer-side advice
Incentive strategy
Project oversight
The Situation
We start with your situation. Not our solution.
SSG is an independent solar advisory firm. Whether you need solar expertise for your own project or your clients' — we've seen your situation before, and we know what to do with it.
Your building needs solar and you don't have time to become an expert.
Your energy bill is draining money from the work that actually matters.
Your clients keep asking about solar and you don't have a turnkey option you can trust.
Here's How This Works
You reach out. We respond. The right advisor handles the rest.
We respond. No sales rep — you talk to the solar advisor who manages the project from start to finish.
We tell you what we see. No generic proposal. A straight answer on whether there's an opportunity worth pursuing — or not.
You reach out.
We look at the situation.
If we move forward, you always know where things stand.
Clear timeline. Clear milestones. No chasing us for updates. Whether you're the project owner or the one who made the introduction — you look good, because we deliver.
We've Seen This Before
If any of that sounds like you — or someone you know — we should talk.
A developer turning a 9,000 sq ft building into affordable housing who needs to maximize solar while keeping interconnection costs down.
An architect looking for a turnkey strategy to make their project solar-ready and save their client real money on the future install.
A church spending $4,000 a month on energy that could be going to ministry and community work.
A nonprofit trying to make the most of their tax-exempt status, but every quote they've gotten is just an install price.
A commercial mortgage broker whose clients keep asking about energy incentives, BEPS, or energy tax strategies— and who wants a trusted expert to send them to.
A community leader with nonprofit relationships who knows these organizations need help but doesn't know where to start.
What We Do
We handle the part nobody in your network has bandwidth to learn.
Solar sits at the intersection of tax law, construction, utility regulation, and state incentive programs. Whether you need this expertise for your own project or you're the one connecting your clients to the right resource — we bring all aspects to the table so nobody has to start from scratch.
Deal Structuring
The federal Investment Tax Credit is one of the most valuable incentives in commercial solar — but only if the deal is set up right. We handle safe harbor timelines, documentation, and credit positioning so the financial model actually holds up. Whether you're claiming the credit directly or exploring direct pay or a sale, we build the strategy before the first panel goes on the roof.
Direct Pay for Tax-Exempt Organizations
Churches, nonprofits, community-facing organizations — you can now receive federal clean energy tax credits as a direct cash payment. Most organizations don't know this exists. We work with your finance team to handle the registration, compliance, and filing so your organization — or your client's organization — captures money that used to be completely off the table.
Incentive Navigation
SRECs, state grants, utility programs — there's real money available, but it has to be built into the deal before anyone commits. We map everything that applies to the location, entity type, and project, and put it into one clear picture. If you're the one making the introduction, we make you the person who brought real value to the table.
Contractor Vetting & Project Oversight
We don't install solar. We find the right people to do it, vet them, and manage the build on the client's behalf. One point of contact, competitive pricing, qualified partners. The person who made the introduction and the person writing the check both know exactly where things stand.
Regulatory Compliance
DC's Building Energy Performance Standards carry fines up to $10 per square foot. Maryland is heading the same direction. If solar is part of a compliance strategy, we make sure it's done right — before the deadlines and the penalties show up. If your clients own commercial property in the Mid-Atlantic, this is a conversation they need to have.
Who We Work With
People who know their business — and people who know those people.
Some of our clients own the site. Some of them have the relationship with site owners. Either way, they need someone who can handle the solar side without slowing anyone down.
Developers & Building Owners
You know how to run a project. Solar isn't your area, but it's on the proforma — or it needs to be. We step in as your energy advisor, structure the incentives, vet the contractors, and make sure the numbers work for your deal, not someone else's.
Architects & Design Firms
You know how to run a project. Solar isn't your area, but it's on the proforma — or it needs to be. We step in as your energy advisor, structure the incentives, vet the contractors, and make sure the numbers work for your deal, not someone else's.
Churches & Faith Communities
Your energy bill is competing with your mission. The federal government will now pay tax-exempt organizations to go solar through direct pay — a program that didn't exist three years ago. We help churches access it and structure projects that put real savings back into the work you actually care about.
Nonprofits & Municipalities
Tax-exempt status used to lock you out of solar incentives. Now it's an advantage — if you know how to use it. We guide you through the structure, the paperwork, and the process so your team can stay focused on what you do.
Brokers, Advisors & Community Leaders
You already have the relationships. Your clients trust you. When solar or energy incentives come up in conversation — and they're coming up more often — you need somewhere to send them that won't waste their time or yours.
That's what SSG is for.
You make the introduction. We handle everything else.
You don't need to learn the solar industry. You don't need to sell anything. You just need to know that when you send someone our way, they're taken care of — and it reflects well on you.
If you have a network of building owners, developers, churches, or nonprofits and you want to turn those relationships into value — let's talk.
About
One advisor. Twenty years of knowing where to look.
SSG was built on a simple idea: someone in the solar industry should work for the buyer.
Most firms in this space are selling their own installation, their own equipment, or their own financing. Every recommendation they make is shaped by what's good for them. We don't have that problem. We don't install. We don't sell equipment. We get paid to figure out what the right move is and then make sure it happens.
We bring two decades of experience across energy markets, deal structuring, and project management. We know the federal incentive landscape, the state programs, the regulatory picture across the Mid-Atlantic, and the contractors worth hiring.
But what our clients and partners actually care about is simpler than that: we do what we say we're going to do. We respond when you reach out. We tell you the truth even when it's not what you want to hear. And we don't disappear after the contract is signed.
The majority of our business comes from trusted referral partners — brokers, architects, community leaders — who send their contacts our way because they've seen how we operate. That's the kind of reputation you can't buy, and it's the one we work hardest to protect.
Buyer-side advisory
Someone in the solar industry should work for the buyer.
How We Work
Clear thinking before execution.
Step 01
Analyze
Your utility data, your facility, your financials, your goals. We figure out whether solar makes sense and what it's actually worth. No assumptions. No recycled proposals.
Step 02
Strategize
Every available incentive mapped. The financial return modeled. The right approach for your entity type, your timeline, and your comfort level. One clear recommendation.
Step 03
Execute
Contractors vetted and selected. Project managed on your behalf. Every milestone tracked and communicated. You know what's happening and when — and so does the person who introduced you.
Contact
Let's see if there's something worth looking at.
Whether you've got a project, a client who needs help, or a network you think we should talk about — just reach out, we've got you covered.
Jesse Wilensky
Founder, SSG
Phone: 301.385.0637
Email: jesse@stanardsolargroup.com