Founded in 2009, Windfree Solar is a Chicago-based EPC and developer specializing in both residential and commercial projects. Windfree Solar is built on collaboration and shared accountability. The commercial EPC team manages projects across northern Illinois and is expanding into larger developments throughout the state.
With thousands of installations under their belt, Windfree Solar has long been committed to delivering high-quality renewable energy systems while ensuring compliance with Illinois’s complex interconnection, incentive, and reporting requirements.
Challenges Before Scoop
Like many established installers, Windfree Solar relied on spreadsheets, Google Docs, and email threads to run operations. Project managers juggled 5–10 projects each, but without a central hub it was difficult to:
- Ensure all compliance steps for incentives and interconnection were captured.
- Eliminate duplicated data entry across sheets and teams.
- Provide executives, subcontractors, and clients with the right level of visibility into project progress.
- Maintain a reliable historical record to learn from past projects.
This patchwork approach created risk. Missed permit documentation or incomplete submissions could cause costly rework, delay revenue, and frustrate customers.
Why Windfree Solar Chose Scoop
Windfree Solar looked for operations software to replace the patchwork of spreadsheets, Google Docs, and email threads that had been slowing down projects and creating compliance risk. What stood out about Scoop was its ability to mirror Windfree Solar’s carefully mapped processes while giving every team member, from sales to engineering to project managers, the same structured workflow.
Several decision drivers made Scoop the clear choice:
- Centralized Workflows: Project-level fields could be reused across scoops, eliminating duplicate entry and ensuring consistent data.
- Validated Stages and Approvals: Mandatory gates prevented projects from moving forward until all compliance requirements were complete.
- Parallel Phases: Work could advance in design and procurement simultaneously, reducing bottlenecks.
- CRM Integration: A seamless handoff from Pipedrive at “Closed Won,” with Scoop mirroring stage changes back, kept sales and leadership fully aligned.
- Partnership Approach: A dedicated Customer Success Manager and integrations team supported Windfree Solar’s implementation, working alongside them to design, implement, and optimize workflows.
In addition, Scoop’s configurability meant Windfree Solar could directly map their pre-designed process charts into the platform without compromise. The system also offered flexibility to integrate with existing tools like Aurora, Helioscope, OpenSolar, and QuickBooks, avoiding the need to rip out their current stack while still achieving central visibility and compliance discipline.
“Scoop gave us a way to bake our compliance and quality controls directly into our workflows. Nothing moves forward until it’s right.” – Mark Anderson-Marion, Operations Manager at Windfree Solar
Implementation Experience
Windfree Solar’s team came into implementation with a clear plan. Before kickoff, they had already mapped their entire business process from sale through interconnection and job closeout, even printing large process charts for internal use. Scoop was then configured to mirror these exact steps, ensuring alignment across sales, engineering, permitting, logistics, and installation.
To build confidence, Windfree Solar first deployed Scoop in its service workflows. This gave project managers and engineers a controlled way to test and adapt before scaling into full EPC projects. From there, they expanded to their commercial workflows with several key improvements:
- Dedicated Workflow Phases: New phases were added for Procurement and Incentives & Funding to reflect compliance-heavy parts of their process.
- Financial Tracking: A Financials section was created at the project level to support reporting and cost oversight.
- Approval Controls: Access restrictions were applied so only designated roles could approve critical milestones such as “Design Approved”.
- Parallel Progression: Boards were configured to allow design and procurement to run in parallel lanes, helping work move forward without unnecessary bottlenecks.
“Scoop’s simple user interface made it easy to show people how we set up actions and checks. For the commercial department, which manages big projects with a lot of risk, having Scoop in place helps us make sure nothing falls through the cracks.” – Mark Anderson-Marion, Operations Manager at Windfree Solar
Through this staged rollout, Windfree Solar ensured Scoop was tailored to their cooperative structure while giving every stakeholder, from project managers to subcontractors, greater clarity and accountability at each step.
Results With Scoop
Since rolling out Scoop, Windfree Solar has transformed its operations and gained measurable structure across projects:
- Compliance Confidence – Mandatory fields and validated workflow stages ensure that permitting, incentives, and interconnection steps are never skipped.
- Visibility Across Teams – Executives, project managers, and subcontractors now have appropriate visibility into project progress, reducing reliance on scattered spreadsheets or manual updates.
- Consistent Data – Project-level fields and standardized templates have eliminated duplication, giving all teams a single source of truth.
- Automated Flow – Auto actions trigger task assignments, crew scheduling, and milestone notifications at the right time, keeping projects moving without chasing.
By embedding their mapped processes directly into Scoop, Windfree Solar has created an operations backbone that enforces discipline, strengthens compliance, and supports their ability to scale larger projects with confidence.
“We had a project where the system size was off by 10 kilowatts. Scoop’s automations forced us to go back and correct it before moving forward, which avoided compliance issues that could have derailed the project.”– Mark Anderson-Marion, Operations Manager at Windfree Solar
Looking Ahead
After seeing major improvements in compliance and visibility, Windfree Solar is now focused on scaling larger projects efficiently.
“With Scoop, we’ve been able to maintain our headcount while taking on larger projects. It helps us establish processes and checks that keep everything on track.”– Mark Anderson-Marion, Operations Manager at Windfree Solar
Windfree Solar is continuing to expand across Illinois with larger commercial developments and a growing portfolio of service and O&M contracts. With Scoop as their operations hub, they are positioned to:
- Confidently manage incentive and interconnection compliance at scale.
- Expand their cooperative model while keeping every stakeholder aligned.
- Provide partners and clients with reliable, transparent project updates.
“We’re in the process of transferring all of our projects to Scoop, from mid-sized commercial to large-scale projects up to 7 megawatts. Scoop helps us optimize operations while we’re working through these complex projects.” – Mark Anderson-Marion, Operations Manager at Windfree Solar
