With record amounts of solar energy systems being installed across Hawaii, the big boom is benefitting many supporting companies, including on the maintenance side of industry.

Enter Pacific Panel Cleaners, which is seeing quite a bump in business these days.

Owner Fred Brooks, who was recently featured in the April 25 print edition of Pacific Business News, told me that photovoltaic panels may lose up to 20 percent of their efficiency if not cleaned well enough, which leads to more business for his Honolulu-based company that's nearly 10 years old.

"I've actually seen an increase in business because systems are getting older," Brooks said. "Some of the companies that didn't offer maintenance at first, are starting to get into this business."

In the past year, he has seen at least two more panel cleaning companies start up, while a lot more established photovoltaic firms are beefing up their maintenance departments.

Despite a slowly crowding industry, he hasn't seen a slowdown in business for himself just yet.

"I've been getting a lot of referrals," Brooks said. "People need to get their maintenance done."

Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/blog/2014/04/hawaiis-solar-energy-panelcleaning-businesses-have.html