Rethinking the Global Economy with Sustainable Solutions In 2002, sustainable business guru and Time Magazine’s “Hero of the Planet” Hunter Lovins founded Natural Capitalism Solutions, an organization that helps communities, companies, and countries implement genuine sustainability solutions to change the way business is done worldwide. NCS is a… Continue reading “Rethinking the Global Economy with Sustainable Solutions”
Microgrids: Creation, Implementation and Finance/Policy Concerns HeatSpring is proud to announce our newest microgrid course: Microgrid Design & Implementation Microgrids are the future of energy production and distribution, but very few people understand how to create a successful microgrid. In this course, microgrid expert Dr. Andrew Skumanich… Continue reading “Microgrids: Creation, Implementation and Finance/Policy Concerns”
What’s Going On With Global Renewable Energy Investment? From a macro perspective, renewable energy technologies seem to be a relatively safe bet for investors… 2015 hit a world record for global renewables investment despite challenging conditions, solar and wind have been deemed “unstoppable,”1 jobs in this sector seem… Continue reading “What’s Going On With Global Renewable Energy Investment?”
Crowd Funding Meets Carbon Reduction CarbonCrowd is a crowd funding platform for individuals who want to take part in climate change reversal. We spoke to Co-founder and CEO Henry Sims about it… How does it work? People too often feel powerless when it comes to… Continue reading “Crowd Funding Meets Carbon Reduction”
Eradicating Energy Poverty: 80 Microgrids by 2020 The EarthSpark team spent 5 years developing their first microgrid in Haiti. Inaugurated in June 2015, it is currently serving 449 homes and businesses with affordable, reliable electricity 24/7. The grid contains 93 kW of PV panels, a 30 kVa… Continue reading “Eradicating Energy Poverty: 80 Microgrids by 2020”
When Cities Go Solar: 5 Ways to Make the Case Getting Your City’s Buy-In on Solar After years of dancing around the idea of sustainability, some select cities have begun to make it a reality with ground-breaking solar industry partnerships. Jackie Biskupski, mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah, recently announced… Continue reading “When Cities Go Solar: 5 Ways to Make the Case”
Solar Partnership Flip: Alive and Well in 2016 Chris Lord discusses partnership flips under the IRC As Mark Twain once said, “News of the recent death of the partnership flip for solar transactions is greatly exaggerated.” Okay, he didn’t exactly refer to partnership flips; he was talking about… Continue reading “Solar Partnership Flip: Alive and Well in 2016”
How Can We Convert Malls, Homes and Offices into Microgrids? Whenever I am driving in a city, I look at the shopping malls, office buildings and residential streets and say to myself: Each of these I can convert into microgrids. Each of these I can take “off-grid,” either in one… Continue reading “How Can We Convert Malls, Homes and Offices into Microgrids?”
Why Will Net Metering Dissolve? What Should Residential Solar Pros Do? Hawaii has officially abolished net metering (NEM) and switched to a different metric for compensating consumers for their non-firm energy… so what is the industry to do? If you are in the residential solar field today, changes are coming to your neighborhood… Continue reading “Why Will Net Metering Dissolve? What Should Residential Solar Pros Do?”
Growing the Microgrid Business in the U.S. & Underdeveloped Regions On the Microgrid Executive MBA Discussion Board How will the microgrid business grow and how can the model be adapted in underdeveloped or poor regions? Microgrid expert and course instructor Mahesh Bhave answers student questions… Mahesh Bhave: Here is a good question from… Continue reading “Growing the Microgrid Business in the U.S. & Underdeveloped Regions”
Economic Modeling Basics for A Solar Project Happening on the Solar Executive MBA Discussion Board… ___________________________________ Construction Debt/Loans, SRECs & Purchasing vs. Leasing a Site Student 1: 1. What is the difference between project debt and the construction loan? 2. What is SREC and Single SREC? 3. If the… Continue reading “Economic Modeling Basics for A Solar Project”
Earning Solar Continuing Education Credits with HeatSpring In addition to gaining applicable experience, completing projects, and learning from expert instructors, taking a HeatSpring course can also provide you with the opportunity to earn Continuing Education Credits. Many of our courses are approved by professional solar organizations for continuing… Continue reading “Earning Solar Continuing Education Credits with HeatSpring”
RETScreen as a Handy Toolbox The following article was written by Michael Ross, Expert Instructor of HeatSpring’s Mastering RETScreen 4 for Clean Energy Project Analysis course– approved for 16 AIA CEUs! RETScreen is the name given to two widely used software tools available for free download from the Government… Continue reading “RETScreen as a Handy Toolbox”
Why SunEdison’s Stock Dropped 50% in 3 Weeks and How You Can Avoid This in Your Own Solar Development SunEdison has climbed up the ladder to become the world’s largest renewable energy service provider, but it has come at a cost. Many people believe that they’re on a trajectory similar to the traditional energy service providers, like Duke Energy,… Continue reading “Why SunEdison’s Stock Dropped 50% in 3 Weeks and How You Can Avoid This in Your Own Solar Development”
Free Tool: Site Lease vs. Buy Modeling Calculator Chris Lord’s FREE Site Lease vs. Buy Modeling Calculator allows users to compare a lease rate against a potential purchase of a solar PV site where the lease rate (including escalator) is known. This tool is used in HeatSpring’s Financial Modeling… Continue reading “Free Tool: Site Lease vs. Buy Modeling Calculator”
Free Lecture: “Economic Optimization of Hybrid Renewable Microgrids” with HOMER Energy There’s no such thing as a cookie-cutter microgrid design. The number of inputs and design choices can be staggering. HOMER Software is the best recognized tool on the planet for microgrid design, and this free lecture will get you up… Continue reading “Free Lecture: “Economic Optimization of Hybrid Renewable Microgrids” with HOMER Energy”
Modeling Your Solar Project’s Cash Flows – When to Increase Granularity In this article, Chris Lord, expert instructor at HeatSpring, lawyer with deep banking experience, and the Managing Director of CapIron, Inc., outlines when it’s important for solar businesses to increase granularity in their solar project’s cash flow model. Key Takeaways: When… Continue reading “Modeling Your Solar Project’s Cash Flows – When to Increase Granularity”
Solar Women Summer Series: Finding Funding in Solar Our fifth Solar Women Summer Series interview (powered by RenewableEnergyWorld.com) features Sara Rafalson, Senior Associate at Sol Systems, a solar energy finance and investment firm with offices in D.C., San Francisco, and Philadelphia. Ms. Rafalson is also the President of… Continue reading “Solar Women Summer Series: Finding Funding in Solar”
Solar Women Summer Series: The Solar Business Skillset Our third Solar Women Summer Series interview (powered by RenewableEnergyWorld.com) features Pamela Cargill, Principal at Chaolysti, a strategic consulting firm that helps residential solar installers operate more effectively. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Chaolysti aims to massively scale the deployment of… Continue reading “Solar Women Summer Series: The Solar Business Skillset”
3 Tax and ITC Considerations for Your Solar Project On the Solar Executive MBA Training Discussion Board… Key Takeaways: Depreciation benefits tend to be far lower than the value of the solar investment tax credit (ITC) If an asset is deemed an “integral” part of the solar PV system then it can… Continue reading “3 Tax and ITC Considerations for Your Solar Project”