Letter from the owner, Troy Hull:
I love Maine. The forests, the mountains, the rivers and lakes, the people; these are the reasons I chose to live here. Rainforest conservation was my focus through college, but after graduating from Vassar in 2002, I spent some time painting houses on my own and enjoying life in Western Maine for a little while.
That “little while” has turned into 22 years and counting. Early on I decided if I was going to build a contracting business in Maine, I wanted it to be as environmentally responsible as possible, use eco-friendly materials and always go the extra step to be respectful of the environment. I always had an interest in installing solar but that didn’t end up happening until later.
In 2009 we incorporated as Aurora Contracting. “Aurora” came from the natural phenomenon of the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, alluding to a respect for the power and beauty of nature, and Aurora is the latin word for “dawn” which I liked because it hinted at hope and a new beginning. Also, Dawn was my mother’s name.
As Aurora developed a reputation for excellent work in the roofing and painting trades and light general contracting, I remained passionate about building a solar side of the business. When we finally made the jump to solar and rebranded as Aurora Roofing & Solar, the two trades fit together like hand and glove, since solar is usually mounted on rooftops. The solar industry was taking off and we were in a position to offer a special combination of roof and solar installations.
Unfortunately, anything that is profitable can develop a dark side. Solar farms started creeping up all over Maine, taking over beautiful farm land and clearcutting forested areas in order to make out of state companies rich while fencing off thousands of acres from wildlife. The Maine DEP was just not staffed to enforce regulations that protect Maine land from this onslaught, and the energy produced from the farms is limited to the supply side of consumer’s electric bill. Contracts are loaded with fine print and people are getting angry for good reasons. To me this is a solution gone bad; it’s irresponsible solar.
Aurora Roofing & Solar will have nothing to do with solar farms. We believe solar should be installed on roofs and smaller ground mount arrays that aren’t general grid suppliers of power but instead are “direct offset” installations. Our contracts are transparent and not loaded with fine print, and every solar or roof installation is done with care that comes from being part of the Maine community. .
All this is to provide context for what drives us and to explain our mission:
OUR MISSION:
To provide environmentally responsible, top quality solar and roofing installations that protect the buildings, land, and people of Maine.
We can’t wait to work with you!