What Is a Certificate of Insurance on a Solar Construction Site? Before a subcontractor ever sets foot on a utility-scale solar project, there’s a stack of paperwork that has to be in order: contracts, licenses, bonds, and one document that tends to get overlooked until something goes wrong – the certificate… Continue reading “What Is a Certificate of Insurance on a Solar Construction Site?”
New Course: Hand & Power Tools for Construction Professionals Construction is bringing in more new workers than it has in years. That means more people on job sites who are still building their tool knowledge and more pressure on experienced leaders to close that gap quickly. Hand & Power… Continue reading “New Course: Hand & Power Tools for Construction Professionals”
The NABCEP ESIP Exam Is Now Available in Spanish NABCEP has announced that the Energy Storage Installation Professional (ESIP) exam is now available in Spanish. For professionals who prefer Spanish and want to demonstrate their expertise in battery storage systems, this is a big step forward. To take the… Continue reading “The NABCEP ESIP Exam Is Now Available in Spanish”
Meet Tripper Gawan – Instructor Spotlight The best clean energy education comes from people who’ve done the work. Not only studied it, but shown up on job sites, solved the hard problems, and grown through the process. Those are the instructors HeatSpring is built around. The… Continue reading “Meet Tripper Gawan – Instructor Spotlight”
What is SCADA? More than 43 GW of new utility-scale solar capacity is planned for 2026 in the U.S., which would represent a 60% increase over the previous year, according to the Energy Information Administration. Every one of those plants runs on a… Continue reading “What is SCADA?”
Who Does What: A Candidate’s Guide to NABCEP, Certemy, and Meazure Learning The NABCEP certification process involves more than one organization, and it’s not always clear who handles what. We sat down with NABCEP Certification Manager Luis Gallaga to break it down for us: If you’re working toward your NABCEP certification, this… Continue reading “Who Does What: A Candidate’s Guide to NABCEP, Certemy, and Meazure Learning”
What Does It Take to Level Up in Solar + Storage Operations and Maintenance? Amanda Bybee has spent years building the systems, standards, and training that keep solar and storage assets running. As CEO of the Amicus O&M Cooperative, the creator of the Tech 1 and Tech 2 courses, she knows exactly what separates… Continue reading “What Does It Take to Level Up in Solar + Storage Operations and Maintenance?”
What is the SEIA/ANSI 301 Standard and Why Does It Matter for Solar and BESS O&M Technicians? Job titles, pay scales, and expectations for O&M technicians have historically varied widely from one solar company to the next. A Level 2 technician at one employer might be doing completely different work than a Level 2 at another. For… Continue reading “What is the SEIA/ANSI 301 Standard and Why Does It Matter for Solar and BESS O&M Technicians?”
Meet Vaughan Woodruff – Instructor Spotlight Behind every HeatSpring course is an exceptional instructor. Industry veterans who bring hands-on experience, real enthusiasm, and a genuine investment in student success. Online learning has a way of keeping those educators at arm’s length, even when their impact is… Continue reading “Meet Vaughan Woodruff – Instructor Spotlight”
One Number That Can Zero Out Your Entire Storage Tax Credit Many people building out energy storage projects in 2026 are focused on the headline numbers: the 30% base ITC, the domestic content adder, the energy community bonus. It’s true that math is genuinely exciting. It’s worth noting that there’s a… Continue reading “One Number That Can Zero Out Your Entire Storage Tax Credit”
What to Expect When You Get Your NABCEP Exam Results Sitting for a NABCEP exam is a big deal. You’ve put in the study hours, met the eligibility requirements, and made it all the way to test day. Once you get there, a natural next question is: now what? We… Continue reading “What to Expect When You Get Your NABCEP Exam Results”
What is Root Cause Analysis? Why is It Important for O&M Techs? When something goes wrong on a solar or battery energy storage system, the fastest fix is not always the right one. Hitting a reset, swapping a component, or clearing a fault code without understanding why it happened in the first… Continue reading “What is Root Cause Analysis? Why is It Important for O&M Techs?”
New Free Course – Smart Investments: Certifications and Licenses That Pay Off Credentials cost time, money, and energy. Knowing which ones are actually worth it can make a real difference in your solar career. HeatSpring is excited to host a new free course from Solar for Women: Smart Investments: Certifications and Licenses… Continue reading “New Free Course – Smart Investments: Certifications and Licenses That Pay Off”
New Course: Basics of Commissioning on Utility-Scale Solar Commissioning is where a solar construction site becomes a power plant. It’s also where schedule delays get expensive fast, defects cost more to fix than they did during construction, and the utility, owner’s engineer, lender’s engineer, and equipment vendors all… Continue reading “New Course: Basics of Commissioning on Utility-Scale Solar”
Wes Kennedy Just Updated “Energy Storage Finance.” Here’s What’s New. The energy storage market moves fast, and lucky for us, HeatSpring instructor Wes Kennedy has kept pace. The U.S. installed a record 57 gigawatt-hours of new battery storage capacity in 2025, a 29% increase over the previous year, and the… Continue reading “Wes Kennedy Just Updated “Energy Storage Finance.” Here’s What’s New.”
Solar Job Spotlight: Head of Growth at a Solar Field Operations Software Company For folks just starting out in solar, it can be easy to feel like you need to take the most direct path from Point A to Point B. The truth is, that’s not always how it goes. Tori Clifford’s story… Continue reading “Solar Job Spotlight: Head of Growth at a Solar Field Operations Software Company”
The Interconnection Review Process, Explained A clean energy customer’s excitement can fade fast if their project hits a roadblock. One day they’re signing a contract, the next they’re asking you why nothing has happened. The answer is often interconnection. If you work in a customer-facing… Continue reading “The Interconnection Review Process, Explained “
What Happens When AI Writes Battery Software HeatSpring instructor Peter Gruenbaum spent years writing software that tells batteries when to charge and when to discharge on utility-scale energy projects. When he built his course on battery energy management systems for HeatSpring, he leaned into AI as a… Continue reading “What Happens When AI Writes Battery Software “
Nonprofit Spotlight: Browning the Green Space For many community college students in Massachusetts, clean energy is a field they’ve heard of but can’t quite describe. They might know they’re interested in solar, or that someone mentioned battery storage, but the breadth of the industry is largely… Continue reading “Nonprofit Spotlight: Browning the Green Space”
Don’t Miss the PNW’s Biggest Solar + Storage Conference This April The Pacific Northwest solar and storage industry has a big gathering coming up, and HeatSpring is excited to spread the word! The PNW Solar + Storage Conference takes place April 28–30, 2026, at the Hilton Vancouver in Vancouver, Washington. This… Continue reading “Don’t Miss the PNW’s Biggest Solar + Storage Conference This April”