General Mills & The Whey to Sustainable Food Production What is anaerobic digestion? How has General Mills’ Murfreesboro Plant leveraged it to save 25,000 gallons of diesel fuel, produce 1.6 megawatts of electricity and return 2,000 acres of farmland back to agricultural use? Sustainable Woman and Energy Engineer Leslie Marshall discusses.… Continue reading “General Mills & The Whey to Sustainable Food Production”
Exploring the National Parks & Reducing (Car)bon Emissions Sarah Knapp began OutdoorFest in 2013 with the vision of connecting city slickers to the great outdoors, sustainably. She’s brought together hundreds of New Yorkers through Festivals, “Mappy Hours” and online resources like the Get Outside Guide. Most recently, she… Continue reading “Exploring the National Parks & Reducing (Car)bon Emissions”
Solar O&M: Tips for Contractors, The Future of Solar & Workforce Development The solar industry is booming, and there’s a lot to keep track of. From system configuration to energy storage, O&M (Operations and Maintenance) and beyond, the job of Franklin Beach Energy’s Managing Director Carter Wall is never really done. Sustainable woman Carter… Continue reading “Solar O&M: Tips for Contractors, The Future of Solar & Workforce Development”
Infrared Imaging & The Future of Solar PV: A 30 Year Industry Veteran Reflects Dr. James rand is a 30-year solar veteran, president of Core Energy Works, a HeatSpring expert instructor AND a Sustainable Scholar. He spoke with us about his professional journey, how the industry has changed, his HeatSpring courses and the future of… Continue reading “Infrared Imaging & The Future of Solar PV: A 30 Year Industry Veteran Reflects”
Developing Your Solar Project: Research, Permits & Market Opportunities Chris Lord and Keith Cronin discuss property records, attractive solar markets and permitting processes on the Solar Executive MBA Training discussion board. Takeaways: It’s often helpful to work with a county clerk when determining which property records you’ll need Solar market… Continue reading “Developing Your Solar Project: Research, Permits & Market Opportunities”
Solar + Storage Battery Considerations: Chemistry, Design & Charge Expert instructor Wes Kennedy answers 3 battery consideration questions in his Advanced Solar + Storage course discussion board… Student 1: One of the biggest hurdles we deal with on the commercial side of storage is the Authority Having Jurisdiction, or AHJ.… Continue reading “Solar + Storage Battery Considerations: Chemistry, Design & Charge”
Megawatt Systems: 3 Design Considerations On the Megawatt Design discussion board, Ryan Mayfield answers student questions about designing systems. He discusses surge protection, tilted arrays, and “levelized cost of energy.” Student 1: Do any of you specify surge or lightning-protective devices for your systems? Either on the… Continue reading “Megawatt Systems: 3 Design Considerations”
Women in Energy: POWERing Growth & Profit If gender-diverse companies financially outperform their less inclusive counterparts, then why do women make up only 24% of the solar industry? Why does this discrepancy exist and how can we work to eradicate it? Kaitlin Borstelmann of Portland Oregon Women in… Continue reading “Women in Energy: POWERing Growth & Profit”
Access the Tools, Network & Knowledge You Need to Advance Your Solar Career Here are the powerhouse solar courses you don’t want to miss: Megawatt Design – Master large-scale solar project design, learn how to get your projects permitted and installed faster and cheaper. Access valuable tools and resources, while advancing your career and the… Continue reading “Access the Tools, Network & Knowledge You Need to Advance Your Solar Career”
Fill in Your Knowledge Gaps – October HVAC Trainings Sharpen and grow your skillset via a technical, online course about heating, ventilation, cooling and air conditioning systems: Integrated HVAC Engineering – Master the complex interaction of room air temperature, humidity, mean radiant temperature, ventilation rate, lighting, sound, and even odors… Continue reading “Fill in Your Knowledge Gaps – October HVAC Trainings”
Building & Powering an Award-Winning Net Zero Energy Home Can a home be beautiful, powered entirely by solar energy, use sustainable heating and cooling systems and save it’s owners roughly $3,500 a year? Why, yes it can. Just ask Joanne Coons, who built her award winning, single-family, Net Zero Energy… Continue reading “Building & Powering an Award-Winning Net Zero Energy Home”
Grow Your Green Building Skillset Online — From Design to Retrofits From building science to retrofits, energy modeling, smart homes, and beyond, HeatSpring offers a comprehensive marketplace of green building courses. Join your expert instructors for weeks of top notch technical training. Deep Energy Retrofits – Upgrade existing residential and commercial buildings… Continue reading “Grow Your Green Building Skillset Online — From Design to Retrofits”
Meet NABCEP! By now, all solar professionals have heard of the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) certifications. But, what does it mean to be NABCEP certified, and how can you get certified? How is the new Associate Program different from… Continue reading “Meet NABCEP!”
Key Microgrid Application Case Studies: Rural Electrification & Telecom Towers Microgrids are an emerging technology with few real-world examples to study. This new short course, taught by Dr. Andy Skumanich, covers two real-world examples of microgrid solutions for major application segments: rural electrification and off-grid telecom tower power. These two segments… Continue reading “Key Microgrid Application Case Studies: Rural Electrification & Telecom Towers”
Understanding Residential and Commercial Energy Storage Renewable Energy Systems show strong Returns on Investment (ROI) and energy storage appears to add to the benefits at the bottom line. Learn the elements of energy storage for residential and commercial clients with this introductory overview of the field,… Continue reading “Understanding Residential and Commercial Energy Storage”
Crafting Your Solar Marketing Program — New, FREE Trainings! At HeatSpring, we’re no strangers to the amazing work of Glenna Wiseman at Identity3 and the Energy Trust of Oregon. That’s why we’ve decided to share the Build it Bright! Crafting Your Solar Marketing Program with our audience. This training series, facilitated… Continue reading “Crafting Your Solar Marketing Program — New, FREE Trainings!”
The ASES 2016 National Solar Tour From Maine to California, and almost everywhere in between, ASES’ 2016 National Solar Tour allows visitors to view over 35 solar energy sites across the United States The ASES National Solar Tour is the largest grassroots solar event in the nation,… Continue reading “The ASES 2016 National Solar Tour”
Deep Energy Retrofits for Historic Buildings Historic buildings are a special case in the world of Deep Energy Retrofits, as they bring additional constraints and special structural issues to the forefront. Still, bringing a beloved (but usually energy inefficient) community building into the resource climate of… Continue reading “Deep Energy Retrofits for Historic Buildings”
UW Greek Community Perpetuating College Sustainability Movement Officially launched in November 2015, the Green Greek Representative Program (GGRP) is a student-run program at the University of Washington working to make the Greek Community a more sustainable place. Working through UW EcoReps and supported by the UW Sustainability office,… Continue reading “UW Greek Community Perpetuating College Sustainability Movement”
Resilient Community Microgrids: An Introduction Learn about the potential of community microgrids in this new short course. Microgrid Institute Director Michael Burr provides a comprehensive introduction to how community microgrids work, what problems they can solve, and how market trends are driving microgrid development, in… Continue reading “Resilient Community Microgrids: An Introduction”