RISE

RISE, registered as RISE Engineering and operating today as a 100% employee-owned arm of Thielsch Engineering, is the most established energy services firm in Rhode Island. The company traces its origins to 1977, when an Energy Subcommittee of a State of Rhode Island business-labor-government partnership launched the nonprofit Rhode Islanders Saving Energy to deliver in-home audits, professional installations, and financing for energy improvements across the state. Thielsch acquired RISE in July 1995, with proceeds donated to seed a permanent RISE Conservation Fund at the Rhode Island Foundation. The organization has carried the RISE name through that transition and now operates from its original headquarters at 1341 Elmwood Avenue in Cranston with seven offices across Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and New York.

What earned RISE the top ranking in Rhode Island is the depth of credentialing behind the work. The company has been BBB-accredited since May 1983, carries an A+ rating, and reports a staff of more than 240 employees participating in an employee stock ownership plan. Its energy efficiency lineage spans more than four decades and, by the company's own accounting, has touched over 530,000 buildings and arranged more than $1.2 billion in energy improvements across the Northeast.

RISE's solar offering is built around commercial photovoltaic installations, with licensed electricians handling design, permitting, interconnection, and construction in-house. Every installation is backed by long-term manufacturer warranties on equipment and an extended workmanship warranty issued by RISE itself. The company structures proposals around available federal tax credits, accelerated depreciation, and state and utility incentives, and it works directly with program sponsors including National Grid to bundle solar with envelope, lighting, and mechanical retrofits when the underlying building economics call for it. That integrated approach is what most distinguishes RISE from pure-play residential installers in the market.

Prospective customers should understand that RISE's solar practice is weighted toward commercial photovoltaic work and pairs naturally with broader energy efficiency programs rather than competing on a per-watt residential basis. For Rhode Island building owners weighing solar alongside insulation, lighting, or HVAC upgrades, that breadth is the relevant strength.

With a composite score of 71.7 out of 100, RISE stands as our top-ranked solar company in Rhode Island for 2026.