Welcome to another video in my One Company One Story series.

Pardon me as I paste in yet another disclosure disclaimer.

I am not a certified finance professional. But I can comment on my finances, and I can comment on stories. The SEC and maybe some other organization(s) require it.

This time is it about SolarWindow, a company that has the innovative idea of creating coatings that can turn a window into a transparent solar panel. That breaks a paradigm or two.

Within the previous few hundred years our civilization became aware of the utility of fossil fuels. (Hmm, did we realize the power of fossil fuels before we knew what fossils were?) I can recall the motto of Pittsburgh while growing up in the tail end of the dirty era; we were told to not complain because that was the “Smell of Progress.” (Side note: I hear similar mottos today for things like the “Price of Freedom.”)

Within the last few decades solar and wind power have gone from jokes to becoming a new paradigm, electricity without major installations, decentralized, and becoming ubiquitous. 

SolarWindow and their competitors are breaking that paradigm as they create solar panels either through solid panels or in the case of SolarWindow, window coatings. Now, instead of opaque, rigid, and acre-eating panels it is possible to integrate solar power units into our windows.

The paradigm shift to coating windows is more than simply replacing solid opaque panels. Look at modern architecture. Even houses are built with an increasing percentage of wall space devoted to windows instead of wood, stone, or steel. Greenhouses take that to an extreme. Farmers can make money from crops as well as from power.

That’s the general idea, but I am keeping in mind that, on a business level they have competitors and I suspect each competitor can tell you why they are better. 

The stock price suggests that SolarWindow’s stock, WNDW, is not in much demand. They had a phenomenal spike within the last few years. I look forward to finding out what that’s about.

It looks like a fascinating story. I hope it and I have a happy ending.