Vivint Solar is now available in the North Baltimore and Frederick areas. PHOTO COURTESY OF: PRNewsFoto/Vivint Solar

Vivint Solar, a full-service residential solar provider, announced its growing presence in Maryland with expansion into the North Baltimore and Frederick areas. Vivint Solar first made its offerings available to Maryland residents in early 2013. The company plans to hire 85 employees in the combined new locations to continue providing its affordable solar solutions to homeowners.

“Our success in Maryland is evidence of growing demand for residential solar solutions in the state,” said Chance Allred, vice president of sales at Vivint Solar. “We are excited to reach out to the homeowners in the North Baltimore and Frederick areas to offer affordable solar.”

Vivint Solar's new territory expansion coincides with GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association's (SEIA) Solar Market Insight Year in Review 2013, which showed photovoltaic installations continued to grow, increasing 41 percent nationally from 2012. As the second largest residential solar installer in the United States, Vivint Solar's growth is indicative of the growing acceptance of residential solar as a mainstream energy source for homeowners, the company reported in a press release.

Residents choose a power purchase agreement (PPA) from Vivint Solar for the potential cost savings. “With five children in private schools, a lower energy rate was an easy decision,” said Erin Justice, of Laurel, MD. “We are always looking for ways to save money for our family.”

Key facts about Vivint Solar's Maryland presence:

• Deploys a unique sales model for the solar industry of an in-person, consultative sales team and a highly automated, efficient design and installation process.
• Currently employs more than 100 full-time employees in the Beltsville, Maryland area, adding an additional 85 in North Baltimore and Frederick areas.
• The company's sales teams, site surveyors, permitting staff, CAD designers, installers and electricians are all in-house and many are hired from local communities and trade schools.
• Vivint Solar first made its offerings available to Maryland residents in January 2013. Maryland is the No. 14 largest solar market in the United States, according to SEIA.

Founded in 2011, Vivint Solar is a top U.S. residential solar installer. Through a power purchase agreement (PPA), a homeowner can buy the power generated by a solar photovoltaic system at a lower rate than they could get from a local utility provider. Vivint Solar designs, installs, monitors and services the system with no additional out-of-pocket costs to the homeowner.