Andrew MaCalla, founder of Meridian Solar in Austin, Texas, spent some time in South America in the early 1990s when countries were building huge impressive river dams to provide “clean” energy. He knew there had to be a better way.

He was introduced to solar at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992.

“My eyes were really opened to how that technology could change everything,” he said. Inspired, he went back to Texas and began working for a rare solar manufacturer in Houston.

The panels the company made were great. “But we were getting a lot of callbacks,” he said.

The missing “third leg of the stool,” as he says, was installation. It didn’t matter how good the product was if there wasn’t thought being put into how the panels would actually function best for the customer, he said.

So, in 1999, he started a solar installation business in his grandmother’s Austin garage.

“I was fascinated,” he said. “I got involved because I thought it should be big, not because I knew it would be.”

But it has been big. Austin’s interest in renewable energy has been strong and has continued to grow over the years, he said. It proved to be a good location for the business.

Meridian recently finished a solar array installation on the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certified building in Texas. It’s in San Antonio, MaCalla said.

The company is still Texas-focused, MaCalla said. But it’s also expanding in ways he never anticipated.

While Meridian Solar started with small-scale and local installations, the company is now getting calls to work on major utility-scale projects all over the country.

“We don’t do residential installations anymore,” MaCalla said. “There certainly some things I miss about that.”

Meridian works with just about every manufacturer out there.

“We’re what we like to call technologically agnostic,” he said. “We pick the best technology based on the needs of the client.”

Some of the company’s biggest solar photovoltaic panel providers include SunPower, SolarWorld and Sharp. But, MaCalla said he’s always open to working with new companies and manufacturers.

“I love all my projects,” MaCalla said. “They’re all my children. It’s hard to say there’s a favorite.”

Pictured: The Powell Residence in Austin, Texas, courtesy of Meridian Solar.