O2 Group Ventures, the Jetton Road-headquartered parent firm of companies specializing in solar energy and sustainable practices, has added to its comprehensive compilation of accolades through the (almost) completely off-the-grid operation of an historic bed and breakfast in the North Carolina mountains.

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The O2 Group, led since 2009 by founder and CEO Joel Olsen, was recognized at the end of 2021 as the Building Performance and Energy Efficient Project of the Year by the N.C. Sustainable Energy Association. The award is given to businesses demonstrating professional excellence and high ethical standards while making a lasting positive impact on the state’s clean energy economy. It was presented to the O2 Group based on the vision and renovations involved in transforming the 147-year-old Lovill House Inn in Boone into a model of modern clean-energy efficiency.

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Personal, professional project

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Olsen started the O2 Group with first-hand experience in countries where solar power and energy efficiency were standard practices. An interest in the impacts of a reliance on imported energy, and three years living in Japan and 13 years living in Norway provided insight about products and practices promoting, by necessity, clean and efficient lifestyles.

“It opened my eyes,” Olsen said. “I started thinking about what North Carolina could do – all the sunshine we get – and wanted to learn everything I could.”

Through solar farms serving municipality needs, services geared to commercial and industrial buildings and packages for residential estates, O2 expanded and excelled. In addition to its recent recognition, the company has received “Business Innovation,” “Community Initiative” and “Energy Leadership” awards from other entities.

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The company has 25 solar farms in North Carolina and Virginia and is involved in other areas, including farming, with a steady, underlying business theme Olsen sums up as “promoting a more sustainable lifestyle.” 

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However, the bed-and-breakfast project – which also earned the NC Green Travel Association’s highest rating – has become more of family venture than just a business. The Lovill House was built in 1875. It was home to the Lovill family for generations – and the place where in 1903 E.F. Lovill worked with brothers Blanford and Dauphin Doughtery drafting the charter establishing Watauga Academy, which evolved into Appalachian State University. The house became a bed and breakfast around 1990.

A few years ago, while their son Ole Christian was a student at ASU, Joel and Tonje Olsen learned the property was on the market. They purchased it in 2021.

“I saw the chance to use my experience in clean energy,” Joel Olsen said.

The house was “renovated down to its studs.” Updates included sound and thermal insulation and new heating-and-air systems along with the installation of solar panels in other locations on the 11-acre site. As the project took on a more personal nature, Tonje supervised the design work. And Ole Christian, with ASU studies focused on sustainable technology, became the on-site caretaker.

Now, except for rare instances – a long period of rain or an extended stretch of cloudy winter days – the Lovill House Inn is self-sufficient, with an “umbilical cord to the electric grid” as a backup.

“It’s the first luxury property, not just in North Carolina, but probably the entire Southeast that operates off the grid,” Olsen said.

The Inn, with six rooms as well as a two-bedroom cabin on the grounds, has earned praise to go along with steady inquiries from others in the industry about ways to combine luxury with efficiency.

“I see the inn as an opportunity to show people sustainability can be luxurious,” Olsen said. “That really is our goal. It’s comfortable, cleaner and, in the long-run, cheaper. Why wouldn’t you do it?

“It’s a way to demonstrate best practices – a better, more sensible way to do things.”

And – maintaining the approach he’s had since becoming intrigued by clean energy and more sustainable practices – Olsen is also exploring other options.

“There’s a waterfall on the property for future hydraulic power options,” he said. “Great for those days when it does rain.”

Tour, dinner at the Inn

The Lovill House Inn in Boone and Sun Raised Foods will host a Farm to Table Dinner Thursday, March 16. Guests can enjoy tours, a four-course lamb supper and a night at the inn. Visit lovillhouseinn.com for details.