Since launching their Midland-based solar company in 2009, Steve Ellebracht and his partners have built solar panels and installed them on farmhouses, gas stations, funeral homes, garages, churches, synagogues, restaurants and houses. One of the solar arrays is harvesting enough sunlight to power 30-35 homes as it feeds energy back into the power grid.
Despite being a startup in the middle of what many experts call an industrywide shakeout, Midland Solar Applications is riding out the turbulence, in part by branching out into other states. The company does most of its research and development here but has outposts in Texas and Missouri, where state incentives fuel residential and commercial solar installations.
