Arch Solar opens new office in Milwaukee

A solar panel installation company has opened its new corporate headquarters in Milwaukee.

Plymouth-based Arch Solar on Friday opened its new corporate headquarters, located at 7764 N. 81st St., in Milwaukee. The installer has worked in the area since 2008 and moved into a renovated commercial building with a warehouse, loading dock and offices. Arch will keep its principal office in Plymouth.

Arch will serve all of southeastern Wisconsin from its Milwaukee location, said Ed Zinthefer, president of Arch Electric Inc. Arch Solar performs installations on single-family homes while Arch Electric focuses on large-scale solar fields. The company serves around 24 counties, an Arch Solar pamphlet showed.

Company officials said the reason it was possible to move into Milwaukee was because of market interest.

“It seems like the industry is maturing and giving us more opportunity, more customers to serve,” Zinthefer said.

Installations range from large buildings such as the Baird Center to single-family homes. The company delivers between 16 to 18 kilowatts for each home installation with around 200 to 300 installations per year, said J.D. Smith, director of marketing and public relations for Arch Solar.

The Milwaukee location could deliver roughly 10 megawatts a year, however projects are split into varied sizes, Smith said. The Pleasant Prairie Rec Plex, one of Arch Solar’s projects, will use more than a megawatt of solar energy, he added.

Arch Solar’s Milwaukee office currently has 30 employees and expects to have 45 by the end of the year, Smith said. In the next few years, there will be 60 to 90 full-time employees in the building. There are currently more than 160 people working for Arch Solar, including in locations in Plymouth and Madison.

Arch Solar has more than 500 solar installations on Milwaukee homes and businesses, which it estimated to offset roughly 225,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide, company officials said. The offset of carbon is equivalent to planting 43 million trees or taking 100,000 vehicles off the road, they added.

In March 2024, an affiliate of Arch Solar bought the 3-acre parcel on 81st Street from MCA Real Estate Holdings LLC for $1 million, Wisconsin Department of Revenue records showed. The commercial building was built around 1990, city of Milwaukee records showed.

In January, the company started renovation of 5,000 square feet of office space, aiming to build a modern workspace, said Josh Backhaus, owner of BTEK Group LLC and renovation contractor.

BTEK Group worked with New Berlin-based CJ & Associates to deliver an office geared toward Millennials and Generation Z workers, with modern office fixtures, a conference room and wellness room, Backhaus added.

Teknion delivered furniture and glass walls, and J + J Flooring supplied office carpeting.

The company hopes to launch a second phase, which might include more office space, a fitness room and more windows, company officials said.

The office floor plan emulates Tesla offices with a drop ceiling, open concept space with project managers, designers, salespeople and office administrators next to each other for more interactivity between staff, Smith said.

In Washington, D.C., legislators are considering phase-outs of the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes a 30% tax credit for rooftop solar installations and battery storage.

Smith said the company has worked without subsidy from the state of Wisconsin and many of the panels it installs are made in the U.S., avoiding exposure to potential tariffs.

The company nodded to its partners in the city of Milwaukee, the Environmental Collaboration Office and We Energies for working with them on early projects and Arch Solar’s success in the area.

“The expansion in Milwaukee underscores our commitment to supporting the city of Milwaukee’s Climate and Equity plan by expanding renewable energy access across the city,” said Jolynn Van Ginkel, vice president of Arch Solar, in a statement. “By making solar energy more accessible and affordable for all residents – especially in underserved neighborhoods – we’re not just reducing the carbon footprint, we’re lowering energy costs, creating green jobs and building a more resilient city for generations to come,” she added.