Vroom Solar's New Solar Energy Solution

It’s an impossible dream that’s about to come true: total energy independence. “I grew up on a farm, and I know so many farmers who grumble about their utility bill,” Luke Phelps says. “So many people want to be able to generate and own their power, to get that complete freedom, that true independence. That’s what this product provides.”

Phelps is CEO and co-founder of Vroom Solar, a southwest Missouri-based solar company startup about to launch a groundbreaking product into the solar industry: the Vroom Solar 3000.

After more than four years in development, $2 million in investments and a SBA loan, the VS 3000 is ready to launch. In its simplest terms, the patent-pending control center converts sunlight to usable power with the flip of a switch. No grid, no battery, no utility company needed. It’s more than a product, it’s a disruptor to the entire $63 billion U.S. solar market, says Phelps.

“With solar, either the utility grid has a lot of additional costs, or you have to attach a battery, which can be expensive and doesn’t last long,” says Phelps. “The VS 3000 has 50 percent less hardware and components versus an average solar install, and our product is close to half the cost.”

Originally a Drury communications major, Phelps entered the solar industry by watching YouTube videos on how to install panels. After his company Red Barn Solar was acquired in 2021, Phelps knew there was a way to make solar more accessible.

In 2022, he teamed up with local solar expert and master electrician James Bartley to found Vroom, and together, they began a rapid ascent in development and funding. In three years, Vroom has been awarded $75,000 in grants. Vroom is on track to be awarded even more, including a $1.25 million AFWEX Phase II grant from the Department of the Air Force.

The VS 3000 is coming to market in spring 2025, with purchase orders in hand and distributors lined up. But for Vroom, a portable power plant is just the beginning, with more patents, more products and a better-than-AI sensor coming to market.

It’s not global solar domination that Phelps is after, though—he dreams of power independence for anyone, anywhere. “My dream is for people everywhere to access power without the energy struggles we see throughout the world. This is so much more than not having a utility bill; our wars around the world are often centered around access to energy. If people can truly manage their own energy, it changes everything.”