145 Gigawatts of Pure Opportunity Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, we’re going to triple the solar industry by 2027. Yes, that’s right, triple. Today we are installing 20 GW of solar in the US. By 2027, we will be installing 60 GW… Continue reading “145 Gigawatts of Pure Opportunity”
eQUEST vs. OpenStudio Is eQUEST or OpenStudio better for running energy models? That was the question from a student this week. Here’s how they framed it: “I’m interested in gaining a qualification in building energy modeling, to perform my firm’s energy rating building… Continue reading “eQUEST vs. OpenStudio”
An Easy Win: I Will Set Up a Free Employee Learning Platform for Your Team The solar industry needs more people. So every solar company leader should know about this free benefit: For $0 any solar company can use HeatSpring as a learning platform to train employees. You can request yours right now. It takes… Continue reading “An Easy Win: I Will Set Up a Free Employee Learning Platform for Your Team”
3 Things Your Solar Company Should Do Right Now to Capitalize on the Inflation Reduction Act Adam Gerza from Energy Toolbase joined this week’s live Solar Entrepreneurship class. Adam is incredibly knowledgeable about solar policy and we asked him to speak about the Inflation Reduction Act. What’s really changing and where are the new opportunities for… Continue reading “3 Things Your Solar Company Should Do Right Now to Capitalize on the Inflation Reduction Act”
Building and Managing Decentralized Solar Project Teams Chris Lord has helped fund and develop hundreds of megawatts of solar projects over the past eight years, but his company is small. I asked Chris to explain how he builds and manages a decentralized group of collaborators to have… Continue reading “Building and Managing Decentralized Solar Project Teams”
Provisions Affecting Geothermal Heat Pumps in the Proposed “Inflation Reduction Act” The Geothermal Exchange Organization (GEO) is the voice of the geothermal heat pump industry in the United States. Below is their summary of the provisions affecting geothermal heat pumps in the ‘Inflation Reduction Act’ and a brief outlook on where… Continue reading “Provisions Affecting Geothermal Heat Pumps in the Proposed “Inflation Reduction Act””
Managing a Commercial Solar Portfolio: How Solar Developers, EPC Contractors and O&M Teams Work Together Chris Lord helps his clients manage a portfolio of solar assets. In that role he’s also managing a network of subcontractors who don’t always have aligned interests. This is the sort of thing Chris and Keith Cronin cover in their… Continue reading “Managing a Commercial Solar Portfolio: How Solar Developers, EPC Contractors and O&M Teams Work Together”
Construction & Project Managers: Demand is High, Supply is Low Chris Lord helps put together and finance large solar projects. From that vantage point he’s able to see where bottlenecks are in the industry. Recently Chris was telling me how hard it is to find experienced construction and project managers… Continue reading “Construction & Project Managers: Demand is High, Supply is Low”
Have You Ever Thought About Teaching? That’s a question I ask almost everybody who’s been successful in their career. At some point you arrive at a place where you look around and wonder, ‘what’s next?’. Your options are infinite, but teaching will be appealing if things… Continue reading “Have You Ever Thought About Teaching?”
How Does a Solar Project Dealmaker Spend His Time? “Solar Project Dealmaker” is the best way to describe Chris Lord. He’s a lawyer, financial modeler, and builder of project teams. Hearing about his work helps you understand how big solar projects happen. Below you’ll hear about a few projects… Continue reading “How Does a Solar Project Dealmaker Spend His Time?”
Who Is Making Money in Solar Plus Storage? – Ask an Expert In the Ask an Expert series, HeatSpring instructors and industry thought leaders answer a question on the minds of the HeatSpring community. This session, we are joined by Chris LaForge, instructor of the Designing Small Scale PV Systems with Energy… Continue reading “Who Is Making Money in Solar Plus Storage? – Ask an Expert”
New Free Course: Unirac’s Faster Solar Design with Online Tools What tools do solar designers use to improve the speed and accuracy of their project designs? This new, free solar design course from Unirac gives you a quick introduction to many of the top solar design tools available. I’ve always… Continue reading “New Free Course: Unirac’s Faster Solar Design with Online Tools”
Major Upgrade to the HeatSpring Platform – Summer 2022 Have you seen the new HeatSpring website? Our customers – you – grew up a lot these past fifteen years. Our new look is a reflection of how your needs have changed, and how we’ll support you during the next… Continue reading “Major Upgrade to the HeatSpring Platform – Summer 2022”
New! Live Meetings with Your HeatSpring Instructor Have you ever wanted to meet with a teacher to talk through an issue? Or ask a question face-to-face that has been bugging you for a while? Now you can. Most paid classes on the HeatSpring classes will soon have… Continue reading “New! Live Meetings with Your HeatSpring Instructor”
Ask an Expert: What is the Biggest Opportunity for Solar Entrepreneurs? In the Ask an Expert series, HeatSpring instructors and industry thought leaders answer a question on the minds of the HeatSpring community. This session, we are joined by Kerim Baran, instructor for the Solar Entrepreneurship course. He answers the question – what is the… Continue reading “Ask an Expert: What is the Biggest Opportunity for Solar Entrepreneurs?”
Three Solar Startups You Should Know The reason that Kerim Baran is my co-instructor for the Solar Entrepreneurship class – the reason that I always come to him with solar startup questions – is because he did it. He started a business in the solar industry.… Continue reading “Three Solar Startups You Should Know”
Live Commissioning (Cx) Class with 8 PDHs Launching March 18th If you’re ready for a deep-dive into Commissioning (Cx), Khaled Yousef is ready to give it to you. He’s teaching a one (full) day commissioning course on March 18th. This course has been evaluated and approved by the Practicing Institute… Continue reading “Live Commissioning (Cx) Class with 8 PDHs Launching March 18th”
IronRidge’s Solar PV Installation Certification Training Now Available on HeatSpring I met Spencer Wright during his time running the Bright Solar Futures program in Philadelphia. There he helped high school students study for and pass the NABCEP PV Associate exam using the HeatSpring platform. I was really impressed by the… Continue reading “IronRidge’s Solar PV Installation Certification Training Now Available on HeatSpring”
We Need an Installation Standard for Ventilation Buildings are getting tighter to save energy while COVID is drawing attention to the importance of proper ventilation. How much ventilation is needed? For residential buildings, there’s a widely accepted standard. ASHRAE 62.2 “Ventilation and Acceptable Indoor Air Quality in… Continue reading “We Need an Installation Standard for Ventilation”
Sharing Solar Developer Secrets for 10 Years: The Enduring Value of the Solar MBA The Solar Executive MBA launched in 2012 and there’s still nothing quite like it. I sat down with instructors Chris Lord and Keith Cronin to talk about the origins of the course and why it’s still such a unique course.… Continue reading “Sharing Solar Developer Secrets for 10 Years: The Enduring Value of the Solar MBA”