Barry Shear
PPresident, Barry Shear, is committed to the wide spread implementation of solar power and the legislative policies that promote the growth of renewable energy systems. Barry founded Eagle Point Solar and built it into one of the larger solar developers in the State. Barry was a business turnaround specialist for 17 years and prior to founding EPS, he was part owner and CEO of Help At Home, Inc., a large homecare provider with operations in 13 states and 140 operating units, providing over 13 million hours of care the last year of his ownership.
Barry graduated from the University of Iowa in 1976 with a Bachelor in Business Administration (B.B.A.) and has earned a wide reputation as a vigorous advocate for solar energy. He feels that energy from renewable resources is the Industrial Revolution of the 21st century.
Barry recently concluded a two-year legal struggle to provide third-party power in Iowa. His case went all the way to the Iowa Supreme Court and was hailed nationwide as an important and pivotal moment for the future of solar energy. On July 11, 2014, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled in favor of Eagle Point Solar, allowing the Dubuque-based company to sell solar energy “output” to the City of Dubuque from a panel array located on the municipal building. This ruling allows Eagle Point Solar and other providers of alternative energy to sell “output” from solar arrays placed on the user’s property.
"This ruling now makes other solar projects like this viable. We can go to any municipality, any university, any waste water treatment plant, churches, any non-taxable entity and we can put solar on their roof or on their property -- and they have to come up with zero dollars to do this. All they have to do is agree to buy the energy produced by the solar array. It’s energy they're paying for anyway, but this will give them access to clean, renewable energy” said Shear.
He also became the first recipient of the Bill Yerkes Award. The award was presented to Barry on August 19, 2014, during the annual Solar World Solar Summit held in Portland, Oregon. The award recognizes those who embody the passion, vision and pioneering spirit of the award’s namesake. Yerkes is remembered as one of the vanguards of the solar energy revolution