SPRINGFIELD, Mo.— Missouri Sun Solar is pleased to announce that its CEO, Caleb Arthur, was elected president of the Missouri Solar Energy Industry Association (MOSEIA) during its annual meeting last Thursday and Friday. MOSEIA is the statewide trade association that represents the interests of Missouri’s solar industry and provides its members with training and resources to develop their business.

Arthur takes over for former MOSEIA president Rick Hunter, CEO of Microgrid Solar in St. Louis, and is joined by Bob Solger, owner of the Solar Design Studio in Kansas City, who was elected vice president of the association. Arthur will serve a single term of two years, upon which time another MOSEIA member will be elected.

As president, Arthur will lead MOSEIA through a critical election year for the solar industry both in Missouri and throughout the nation. The 30 percent federal tax credit for solar systems is up for renewal at the end of 2016. Ensuring that Missouri legislators are educated and informed about the benefits of this tax credit to both the industry and the state in terms of job creation and investment, is one of his top priorities as president. In addition, Arthur says he will work closely with Renew Missouri, a non-profit renewable energy advocacy association based in Jefferson City, to pass legislation that will strengthen and protect the gains solar has made throughout the state. Finally, Arthur says he will work to provide better training and additional resources to MOSEIA members.

MOSEIA has played a critical role in the development and growth of the solar industry in Missouri by helping to pass state’s first renewable energy standard, Proposition C, in 2008 and by challenging Empire District Electric’s resistance to this mandate, eventually winning a five-year legal battle that ended up with the Missouri Supreme Court ordering the utility to abide by the voter approved measure.