Voices of Energy: Hal Saville

Commercial energy project consultant for Energy Independent Solutions

Amy Sisk

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Amy Sisk reports for StateImpact Pennsylvania and WESA, Pittsburgh's NPR member station. She comes to Pennsylvania from another energy-rich state, North Dakota, where she told stories from coal mines, wind farms and the Bakken oil patch for Inside Energy and Prairie Public Broadcasting. Amy's stories often air on NPR, including those from the eight months she spent following the Dakota Access Pipeline protests. A reporting trip to the Bakken during its boom years sparked her interest in energy. Ever since, she's covered the industry -- from the way it is regulated to its influence on policy to its impact on people and the environment.

Amy Sisk / StateImpact Pennsylvania

May 16, 2018 | 3:59 PM

The solar industry is one of the newest players to enter Pennsylvania’s energy landscape. During its infancy, making a career in it was a bit of a gamble, but Hal Saville decided to give it a go.

“It was something that I had to convince my family was the right thing to do because I had a pretty cushy job and could have retired from doing that, and the industry was somewhat slow to get on its feet and really gain momentum,” he says.

One of his latest projects: The new Forest Hills Municipal Building near Pittsburgh, home to a solar panel system developed by Energy Independent Solutions, where Saville works as a commercial energy project consultant.

Saville helps design and sell solar panel systems like this one. Listen to his story, as a crew finishes installing the system’s wiring:

Voices of Energy is an ongoing series that cuts through the rhetoric surrounding energy to feature people who work in all aspects of the industry. Check out the other parts of the series, including a feature on a field supervisor who responds to hazardous materials incidents, and an energy auditor who performs home energy inspections. Do you know someone who would make for an interesting profile? Contact Amy Sisk at asisk@wesa.fm.