It’s National Customer Service Week! This week, we recognize and celebrate excellent customer service. To pay homage to our dedicated customer service team at Sol Systems, we are launching our Service Spotlight Series! This interview series will provide the opportunity for our customers and partners to get to know their customer service representatives and learn about what goes into serving our 15,000 customers each day. The start of our series features Abbie Borowski, an SREC Customer Operations Analyst at Sol Systems. 

1. What brought you to Sol Systems? 

I’ve always had an interest in being a part of the renewable energy industry. Right after college, I was the Assistant Director of an Upward Bound program in Vermont, where I worked with first-generation, college-bound high school students from modest- income backgrounds. This was an incredibly rewarding job, but as I was helping each student chase their dreams, I knew I was not fully chasing my own. I decided to leave that role for an entry level sales position with a solar installation company in Maryland. After a little while I ended up leaving the sales team and moved over the operations side of the business, quickly realizing it that was where I wanted to be all along. Under my prior role, I was responsible for maintaining customer relations and installation timelines. I loved it! However, I wanted to explore renewable energy credit (REC) trading and post permission to operate (PTO) processes. Eventually, I saw an advertisement for a SREC Analyst position in DC and applied. I ended up getting the position with Sol Systems in 2019. The experience I gained from my time working for a solar installer provided an excellent foundation for me to transition into my current role at Sol Systems.   

2. What sparked your interest in renewable energy? 

I went to school for Sustainability Studies. My program was a broad scope of how to apply sciences to world sustainability practices.  I was a first-generation college student and obtained a lot of support from my peers and professors to excel my professional development in this field. I knew I wanted to be in the renewable space and was able to drill that interest down further to find that I wanted to specifically be in the solar industry. I am fascinated by alternative energy sources and the different relationships they have with the utility grid.  

3. Why do you like working in SRECs specifically? 

SRECs are a unique sector of the solar industry that most people may not know much about. This type of work is fast pace and ever changing, from the Trading Operations to understanding the intricate policy of each SREC market, I still learn new things every day. Another interesting aspect of our customer relationship is that we pay customers, they don’t pay us. Our goal is to provide excellent service every step of the way.  

4. What's your favorite part of working on a customer service team? 

My favorite part about my role specifically is working on account maintenance and being a part of every process that must happen on the back end for a customer to receive their SREC payment. Along with that, our team structure is stellar we all work together wonderfully and have excellent leadership to guide us.  All the tasks we execute daily are a part of a bigger picture and it is very rewarding to see our team accomplish major milestones along the way.  

5. Outside of Sol Systems, what do you like to do for fun? 

I love to knit; I love everything about it – the different yarn options, the diverse patterns, the joy you get when you finish a project, everything! I also enjoy cycling and running. I strive to take advantage of anything I can do outside. 

ABOUT SOL SYSTEMS 

Sol Systems is a leading national solar energy firm with an established reputation for integrity and reliability across its development, infrastructure and environmental commodity businesses. To date, Sol has developed and/or financed over 850 MW of solar projects valued at more than $1 billion for Fortune 100 companies, municipalities, counties, utilities, universities and schools. The company also actively shapes and trades in environmental commodity and electricity markets throughout the United States. The company was founded in 2008, is based in Washington D.C, and is led by its founder. Sol Systems works with its team, partners, and clients to create a more sustainable future we can all believe in. For more information: www.solsystems.com