Every summer, the solar industry looks to the release of Solar Power World’s Top Solar Contractors List, one of the industry’s most recognized benchmarks for installation experience and contribution to the growth of clean energy across the country.

This year, PV Squared Solar is proud to once again be included among the nation’s leading solar contractors on the 2026 Top Solar Contractors List.

But for us, the ranking is not the only thing worth celebrating.
We are also celebrating the story of one of our proud worker-owners.

As part of the publication’s “15th Anniversary: Top Solar Contractors Across America” editorial, Solar Power World selected PV Squared for a special feature exploring something larger than annual installation numbers.

The editorial begins with a simple but important observation: there is more to a solar company than the kilowatts it installs each year. Behind every project are people navigating challenges, supporting one another, strengthening their communities, and building resilient companies designed to last.

Among those stories was one from PV Squared.

Beyond Kilowatts

Solar companies are often measured in megawatts installed.
That makes sense. Installed capacity is an important measure of technical experience, operational capability, and contribution to the clean energy transition. But it is not the whole picture.

A strong solar company can also be measured by the people it invests in, the culture it creates, the communities it serves, and the relationships it sustains over decades. Those things are harder to quantify. They are also among the things we are most proud of.

Rachel’s Story

Rather than focusing on one of our solar installations, Solar Power World chose to tell the story of Rachel Levey, a PV Squared Worker-Owner, Secretary of the Board of Directors, Inside Sales & Service Specialist, and internationally competitive dragon boat athlete.

Rachel’s path to both worker ownership and competitive paddling began following a breast cancer diagnosis that prompted her to reconsider how she wanted to spend her time and energy.

“I had to reassess how I spend my time. What do I put my energy into?…
My time suddenly had a different value and importance to me.
I happened to find both things in the same place at PV Squared.”

While undergoing treatment, Rachel interviewed with PV Squared and found not only a job, but meaningful work aligned with her values and a cooperative community in which she could build a new chapter.

Last year, the International Dragon Boat Federation added a breast cancer division to the World Dragon Boat Racing Championships, marking an important milestone in the history of the sport.

Rachel qualified for the U.S. national team and traveled to Brandenburg, Germany, to compete. She and her teammates earned silver and bronze medals in the races.

While Rachel competed across the Atlantic, her coworkers gathered at PV Squared’s Greenfield office to livestream the competition and cheer her on from afar.

For the cooperative, watching Rachel compete at the top of her sport, and then seeing her story receive national recognition, became a shared moment of pride.

“One of the greatest joys of working in a cooperative is watching and sharing in the success of our colleagues,” said Brittany Hathaway, Worker-Owner and Marketing & Outreach Specialist at PV Squared.

“Rachel is the kind of person who rarely seeks the spotlight, so watching her not only be invited to compete internationally in this milestone moment for her sport, but earn many medals, and then be recognized by Solar Power World was incredibly meaningful for all of us. It has felt like the entire cooperative, and people from every chapter of Rachel’s life, are cheering her on together. That kind of celebration doesn’t happen because of a job title. It happens because of the person she is.”

Rachel said the recognition has been both humbling and meaningful.

“Dragon boating and worker ownership may look very different from the outside, but both depend on people moving together with trust, commitment, and a shared purpose,” Rachel said.

“I am incredibly proud to have represented the United States in Germany, and I am just as proud to be part of a cooperative where my coworkers were watching, cheering, and celebrating alongside me. To have Solar Power World share that story is an extraordinary honor.”

Rachel’s story is remarkable not because every part of it is typical, but because it reflects something fundamental about our cooperative.

People bring their whole selves to work here.

We support one another through life’s challenges, celebrate one another’s achievements, and recognize that building a resilient company begins with caring for the people who make it possible.

Rachel Levey hoists a silver medal she and her teammates earned while competing
at the World Dragon Boat Racing Championships in Brandenburg, Germany.

A Different Definition of Success

At PV Squared, we often say that we are not trying to become the biggest solar company.
We are trying to build one that lasts.

Our worker-owned cooperative model encourages long-term thinking over short-term growth. It prioritizes craftsmanship over volume, stewardship over transactions, and lasting relationships over sales quotas.

Founded in Greenfield in 2002, PV Squared designs, installs, and maintains residential and commercial solar and battery storage systems throughout Western Massachusetts and Southern Vermont.

As a 100% worker-owned cooperative, the company is shaped by the people who work within it, from the technical expertise invested in each project to the care colleagues extend to one another beyond the workplace.

Those values do not always show up in a ranking.
But they show up every day in how we work together.
We are grateful that Solar Power World chose to recognize them.

Recognition That Reflects Our Values

Being included once again on the 2026 Top Solar Contractors List is an honor.
Being featured in an editorial celebrating the people and relationships behind the work feels especially meaningful.
The dual recognition reflects something PV Squared has believed since its founding:

The strongest companies are not defined solely by what they build. They are defined by how they build it, and by how they support the people doing the building.

This recognition also builds on previous national honors from Solar Power World, including PV Squared being named a Most Forward Thinking Solar Contractor in 2024.

Together, these recognitions reflect both the technical quality of our work and the values that have guided our cooperative for more than two decades.

Thank You

Thank you to Solar Power World for recognizing not only the technical work taking place across the solar industry, but also the people, cultures, relationships, and acts of resilience that sustain it.

And thank you to Rachel for reminding all of us why meaningful work matters, and what becomes possible when people move together with trust and shared purpose.

Congratulations to every company recognized on this year’s Top Solar Contractors List.

Here’s to another year of building clean energy infrastructure, resilient companies, and stronger communities!