How Does a Utility-Scale Solar Project Move from Concept to Fully Operational? The development cycle of a utility-scale solar project demands precise orchestration across multiple phases and stakeholders. From initial site acquisition through interconnection studies, Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) negotiations, and ultimately construction, each stage builds upon the last in a carefully… Continue reading “How Does a Utility-Scale Solar Project Move from Concept to Fully Operational?”
The Complete Guide to Getting Your Remote Pilot Certificate for Commercial Drones Your first step to flying drones professionally is earning the FAA Remote Pilot Certificate under Part 107 regulations. This essential credential verifies your understanding of drone safety, airspace rules, and operational procedures, giving you the legal authority to conduct commercial… Continue reading “The Complete Guide to Getting Your Remote Pilot Certificate for Commercial Drones”
Types of Transmission Line Structures and Their Components The United States power grid is made up of more than half a million miles of transmission lines, delivering power to more than 160 million customers, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Understanding the basics of transmission systems is… Continue reading “Types of Transmission Line Structures and Their Components”
How Biomaterials Are Central to Decarbonizing the Built Environment The next frontier of sustainable architecture isn’t about minimizing impact – it’s about actively regenerating our environment through the buildings we create. At the NESEA’s BuildingEnergy Boston earlier this year, experts from MASS Design Group and New Frameworks shared insights… Continue reading “How Biomaterials Are Central to Decarbonizing the Built Environment”
What if everybody on your team mastered construction drawings? Construction drawings are the language we use to build and power the world. Engineers and architects get lots of training, but everybody else learns on the fly. Have you been trained in how to read or create construction drawings? If… Continue reading “What if everybody on your team mastered construction drawings?”
New Free Bundle: NESEA BuildingEnergy Boston 2024 Since 1975, the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) has been at the forefront of sustainable development in the built environment. Among their flagship programs, the annual BuildingEnergy conferences in Boston and New York City stand out as noteworthy events for… Continue reading “New Free Bundle: NESEA BuildingEnergy Boston 2024”
Sophie’s Story – How Curiosity & Real-World Building Experience Led to Creating Healthier, More Resilient Homes Join us in celebrating Sophie Ashley, whose inspiring journey from carpenter to high performance building specialist and HVAC designer has been chosen for HeatSpring’s Stay Curious campaign. This initiative highlights the transformative power of education in the clean energy and… Continue reading “Sophie’s Story – How Curiosity & Real-World Building Experience Led to Creating Healthier, More Resilient Homes”
We Need More Utility-Scale Solar PV Designers Engineers…we need you. You can spend your whole career working in solar energy and never get bored. Climate change is the biggest problem you could tackle and you’ll never have trouble finding interesting work to do. Let’s zoom out and… Continue reading “We Need More Utility-Scale Solar PV Designers”
Now Offering the NABCEP Solar PV Associate Prep Course in Spanish HeatSpring and Sean White are excited to announce the launch of our NABCEP PV Associate Prep course in Spanish. With over 559 million Spanish speakers worldwide and 13% of the U.S. population speaking Spanish at home, this update allows us… Continue reading “Now Offering the NABCEP Solar PV Associate Prep Course in Spanish”
How to Become an IGSHPA Certified Residential Geothermal Designer The International Ground Source Heat Pump Association (IGSHPA) Certified Residential Designer (CRD) program is a comprehensive training course that equips professionals with the expertise to design efficient and sustainable ground source heat pump systems for homes. Throughout the program, participants… Continue reading “How to Become an IGSHPA Certified Residential Geothermal Designer”
Bob Caspe’s new “Entrepreneurial Strategy” course The latest course to drop on HeatSpring is called “Entrepreneurial Strategy”. A chance to meet and learn from Bob Caspe Bob is the best teacher I’ve ever had – he helped me see an approach to business that was both… Continue reading “Bob Caspe’s new “Entrepreneurial Strategy” course”
Introducing Formative Assessments: Using AI to Boost Learner Engagement on HeatSpring When Brian, the Co-founder of HeatSpring, first broached the subject of incorporating AI into our platform a few years ago, I’ll admit I was skeptical. No way are we going to actually be able to use any of this stuff,… Continue reading “Introducing Formative Assessments: Using AI to Boost Learner Engagement on HeatSpring “
Going Outside the Queue | Speeding Up Interconnection of Generation & Storage to Transmission We all know that utility-scale solar and storage is building momentum, yet the process of interconnecting new renewable power sources remains a substantial bottleneck in the clean energy transition. In this quick video, HeatSpring instructor Tim Taylor unpacks recent developments… Continue reading “Going Outside the Queue | Speeding Up Interconnection of Generation & Storage to Transmission”
Working Safely on Energized Equipment – Understanding Restricted Approach, Limited Approach, and Arc Flash Boundaries When it comes to electrical safety, understanding arc flash hazards and how to mitigate their risk is crucial, but all too often misunderstood. Many workers believe that staying outside the arc flash boundary guarantees safety, but this is a dangerous… Continue reading “Working Safely on Energized Equipment – Understanding Restricted Approach, Limited Approach, and Arc Flash Boundaries”
How can we make heat pump retrofits easier? WARNING: if you’re a climate-minded clean energy professional, this will be hard to listen to. This American Life is my favorite podcast, and David Kestenbaum is among my favorite producers on the show. So I was really excited to see… Continue reading “How can we make heat pump retrofits easier?”
Build your own ACCA Manual J load calculations and energy models Back in the 80’s ACCA created Manual J as a process to do load calcs. It was hundreds of pages of calculations, formulas, factors etc. Then in 1985 the first software was developed following Manual J to speed up the… Continue reading “Build your own ACCA Manual J load calculations and energy models”
Contractors Say Better Training Would Help Them Sell More Brands create structured training programs because they increase loyalty, decrease user error, and improve customer satisfaction. Think IronRidge certification, Carrier’s Authorized Dealer program, or Microsoft certification. Education is a powerful form of marketing and the foundation for all product sales.… Continue reading “Contractors Say Better Training Would Help Them Sell More”
A Look at NFPA 855: Locations for Energy Storage in One- or Two-Family Dwellings The US energy storage market saw a dramatic 84% surge in installed capacity during Q1 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, as reported in the June 2024 US Energy Storage Monitor from Wood Mackenzie and American Clean Power.… Continue reading “A Look at NFPA 855: Locations for Energy Storage in One- or Two-Family Dwellings”
How Does Electricity Flow Through a Utility-Scale Solar Site? The utility-scale solar segment installed 7.6 GWdc in Q2 2024 – a whopping 59% jump from last year, according to SEIA’s latest Solar Market Insight Report. If you’re one of the newer folks joining in the industry to help get… Continue reading “How Does Electricity Flow Through a Utility-Scale Solar Site?”
What is the Architectural Solar Continuum? The Architectural Solar Continuum is a framework for understanding and implementing solar energy in architectural design. This approach categorizes projects across 6 levels of solar integration, each impacting coordination requirements, costs, and energy density. The continuum provides architects, designers, and… Continue reading “What is the Architectural Solar Continuum?”