Sustainable finance B-Corp OneEthos has launched the Strong Tail Solar Alliance, a coalition of like-minded solar companies dedicated to providing resources to residential solar installers who want to sell fully-owned solar installations to homeowners in a market that has become increasingly dominated by third party financing after the sunsetting of the Section 25D tax credit at the end of 2025.
The coalition’s founding members include customer experience platform Bodhi, Climate First Bank, Scanifly, JA Solar, Damaris Solutions and Krannich Solar. The assembled companies cover every part of an installer’s workflow, including sales and marketing, modules, energy storage, equipment distribution, design, permitting and customer care.
The idea for the Alliance came about following the acquisition of Bodhi by OneEthos in March. Scott Nguyen, the founder of Bodhi and founder of Bodhi and head of growth at OneEthos, says he was inspired to bring about a coalition after hearing about challenges faced by Bodhi customers in their attempts to compete with third-party ownership (TPO) companies.
“I was having a lot of these conversations with these installers,” said Nguyen in conversation with pv magazine USA. “I remember one of them said very specifically ‘I really want to sell ownership. I think it’s the best thing for these homeowners… but I can’t compete right now. Other people come in with a prepaid lease, show that upfront discount… We still believe in and want to sell ownership. We just need some help.’”
Nguyen decided that help could come in the form of something more durable than a brand partnership with a single other company.
“This is where we felt, ‘can we create a partnership ecosystem? Can we build a set of offers that are so compelling that it really allows the mid- to long-tail installers to compete again and provide the benefits of home ownership to their customers?” he said.
As for the name of the coalition: the term “strong tail” has been used online since at least late 2025 to describe the small- to medium-sized regional solar installers who have been in business for many years. While these companies may not have the installation volumes to compete with very large national players in the residential space, their businesses have stood the test of time, even as some of those larger brands faltered in recent years.
Benefits of the ecosystem
The current slate of Alliance partners each brings a unique offering to companies that sign up to join. Installers can select from an a la carte menu based on the services they feel are most beneficial for their business. To join the Alliance and access the benefits, installers must become approved OneEthos installers.
At launch, offers for OneEthos approved installers include:
The Alliance will add new member companies and offers as it works to build its partnership ecosystem. But each future partner will have to agree to support the others.
“We do have criteria: all alliance members must share the same values and sign the Strongtail Compact,” Nguyen said. “That compact states everything we believe in. Because everyone believes in the values of how we operate and in each other’s products and companies, we’re all going to cross-promote each other. So we have a standard that dictates which companies we will consider and which we won’t.”
Upcoming educational series
To further support local companies, the alliance will host a three-part webinar series this fall. The scheduled sessions include:
Nguyen says the education sessions are a key component of the value the Alliance can provide. “What we want to do is take the experience we’ve had across the industry working with all different installers and bring back practical tips to share,” he said. “Each member is going to bring their expertise to that, and the One Ethos / Bodhi brand will be curating and producing that content and distributing it out to all alliance members.”
Importantly, the webinars will not be exclusive to OneEthos approved installers, but will instead be open to anyone who registers. Links can be found on the Education tab of the Strong Tail Solar Alliance website.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: [email protected].
Comments
Please login to comment
The new issue of pv magazine Global is out now!
Available in print and digital – get your copy today!
Monday, October 26, 2026
10:30 am – 11:30 am CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid
A two-day conference in Austin, Texas, bringing together leaders in US solar manufacturing, equipment specification, and factory execution.
Thursday, October 7, 2026
11:00 am – 12:30 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid
pv magazine USA hosts its multi-day virtual event on U.S. solar and energy storage, covering domestic manufacturing, distributed energy and the growing role of solar-plus-storage in meeting AI-driven power demand.
You have no items in your basket.
