Since Borrego Solar was selected as a pre-qualified energy services company by the Department of Energy, the company is looking to dramatically expand its federal contract work.

“We’re pretty happy to be on the list,” said Jon Gensler, federal project manager for Borrego. “We think it’s going to open up a lot pf opportunities we wouldn’t otherwise have.”

Gensler said the company was already focusing on growing its federal contract business and has been involved in some Department of Defense solar installations at military bases. Now that the California company is on the pre-approved list, that work should grow exponentially.

Federal contract work has only been a fraction of the solar company’s business over the years, but Gensler said this spot on the list could lead to an increased share of Borrego’s business coming from the government.

Gensler said he especially expects that to be the case now that President Barack Obama has been re-elected. Since he was pushing for military bases and other federal facilities to become more energy efficient and incorporate more renewable energy generation before the election, Gensler said it seems safe to assume those initiatives will continue.

Getting on the list was no small feat.

“It was a very thorough vetting process,” Gensler said.

The agents reviewing the application came back to him over and over again asking for clarification, more detail and contacts for reviews.

That experience makes the company even prouder to have made the cut, Gensler said.

Borrego had to hold up examples of other Power Purchase Agreement projects it worked on and how those projects turned out for the customers.

The company has developed a strong foundation, which allows it to finance PPA projects so that governmental agencies and nonprofits can buy solar power at a discounted rate below what they were paying for traditional electricity from the utility company. Being on this list allows Borrego to sign 25-year PPAs with the federal government where the limit used to be 10 years. The 25-year model is better because it more closely matches the lifetime of the average solar panels.

Gensler said the company is also expanding its services beyond solar installations to include energy efficiency retrofits and upgrades that will reduce energy usage and help a solar energy system power a greater percentage of a building’s use.