VIROQUA - “Electrification and decarbonization equal rural revitalization,” were Ethos founder Alicia Leinberger’s words of wisdom at Ethos Green Power’s 10-Year Open House on Tuesday, June 20.

The open house highlighted Ethos’s installation of solar power in Viroqua and a community movement toward greener energy.

From 3:30 to 6:30 p.m., community members gathered at the new Ethos facility on Power Drive in Viroqua to learn more about solar power and celebrate the anniversary of Ethos.

Alicia Leinberger founded Ethos as its sole owner in 2013. Prior to that, Leinberger worked with wind power in Madison.

“When I got to Viroqua, I had to start again,” Leinberger said. “I couldn’t imagine how to hire enough people.”

Leinberger didn’t need to imagine for long. As Ethos took off, the organization brought on more and more employees. In 2020, Leinberger fulfilled her longtime vision of transitioning Ethos to a worker-owned cooperative.

In the following several years, the cooperative has grown rapidly, with the number of workers virtually doubling since 2021. Currently, Ethos employs around 20 people in total.

Project Planner Emily Cikanek has been with Ethos since 2021.

“The work environment here is really wonderful, the staff is super tight. I’ve met some of my closest friends working here,” Cikanek said.

“It’s also a super comfortable place for women to work. In a lot of trades jobs, there can be imbalance between genders, with females feeling the need to prove themselves by going above and beyond their male coworkers. We don’t have that here.”

Ethos has a large percentage of younger workers, with the average age being around 30.

“That’s a very positive sign,” Leinberger said. “We need young people to learn trades and start businesses that contribute to green energy.”

Ethos is continuing to expand and develop. The cooperative is currently in the process of moving their offices to their larger, newly built facility on Power Drive adjacent VEDA’s Food Enterprise Center.

Alicia Leinberger continues to look toward the future for Ethos.

“I think the future is very exciting, and it doesn’t stop at solar. As we move away from fossil fuels, there will be more and more opportunities to go into the electric trade.”