Sustainable Business of the Year: Stracker Solar
Presented by Gary Blake

Jeff Sharpe, founder and CEO of Stracker Solar, an Ashland-based solar manufacturer and installer firm received the Sustainable Business of the Year for 2022.

Stracker Inc. was formed in January 2017, bringing together a great team of young engineers partnering with Oak Street Tank and Steel who has been manufacturing metal products for over 100 years in Ashland – our oldest Ashland business and longest Chamber member! Within 4 months, they had the first Stracker prototype built, sold, installed and producing clean solar power for Oak Street Tank and Steel.

Stracker Solar's unique elevated solar tracking system recently installed five elevated Strackers providing clean energy and night-time illumination for TC Chevy in Ashland, making the successful business the first solar-powered auto dealership in Southern Oregon. Stracker Solar recently announced that the Oregon Department of Energy has awarded $940,000 in funds as part of their Community Renewable Energy Grant Program for an energy resilience project they designed for the City of Ashland. The proposed solar plus battery project will be built at the City Service Center where the Police and Electric Departments as well as city vehicle fueling and charging stations are located, in order to support continued operation of essential services, as well as, continued fueling of city vehicles (which include ambulance and fire trucks), in the event of power grid failures. Stracker Solar is growing and expanding with national markets and we are honored their homebase is Ashland, Oregon.