New star rating reports will soon be emailed to all participating Solar trade allies with ratings based on trade ally participation from November 1, 2016, to October 31, 2017. Star ratings are re-evaluated every three months based on applications submitted and installations completed over the past 12 months.

Highlights from this rating period:

• A total of 122 solar trade ally contractors were enrolled in the Energy Trust Trade Ally Network. Of those, 75 solar trade allies submitted applications or completed projects during the current rating period, qualifying them to receive a star rating—three more than the previous rating period.
• In this rating period, 43 solar trade ally contractors have a star rating of two-and-a-half or three stars—nearly two-thirds of the trade allies rated during this period.
• The most common corrections issued were for missing System Labels (2.3.17) and missing Customer Manuals (3.1.1).

You can use your rating as a selling point with customers to point out your familiarity with best practices and Energy Trust incentive processes. Business development fund amounts and availability are also determined by your current star rating.

For complete details on how star ratings are determined, see the Solar Trade Ally Rating System document. The next rating period ends January 31, 2017.