New Course: Comprehensive 2026 NEC Requirements for Electrotech: PV, ESS, EVs, PCS, and More The team behind the new “Comprehensive 2026 NEC Requirements for Electrotech: PV, ESS, EVs, PCS, and More” course has spent years helping shape the National Electrical Code, not just applying it (although they do that plenty too). Solar Tech Collective’s… Continue reading “New Course: Comprehensive 2026 NEC Requirements for Electrotech: PV, ESS, EVs, PCS, and More”
What’s New with NABCEP Credentials in 2026? Sean White Breaks It Down NABCEP credentials have always been the benchmark for solar and storage professionals, but 2026 is shaping up to be an interesting year for their credential landscape. The PV Associate exam has gotten a Job Task Analysis (JTA) update, the newer… Continue reading “What’s New with NABCEP Credentials in 2026? Sean White Breaks It Down”
New Courses: Introduction to Hand Tools and Power Tools for Solar HeatSpring is excited to announce two new courses from Jenny Conrardy: Introduction to Hand Tools for Solar and Introduction to Power Tools for Solar. Who These Courses Are For These courses are built for new solar employees, apprentices, and career… Continue reading “New Courses: Introduction to Hand Tools and Power Tools for Solar”
What Does SCADA Connect on a Utility-Scale Solar Project? On a utility-scale solar project, SCADA connects three distinct parts of the system: the PV equipment, the substation, and the utility. Each layer often speaks a different protocol, and understanding how they fit together is foundational to working with these… Continue reading “What Does SCADA Connect on a Utility-Scale Solar Project? “
The Complete Utility-Scale Solar Curriculum: Introducing the Utility-Scale Solar Executive Bundle If you’ve been following Andy Nyce’s courses on HeatSpring, you know the catalog has grown substantially. Andy has spent over a decade working across every phase of utility-scale solar execution, and over the past few years he’s turned that experience… Continue reading “The Complete Utility-Scale Solar Curriculum: Introducing the Utility-Scale Solar Executive Bundle”
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?”
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?”
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”
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 “
New Course: SCADA Communication Systems for Utility-Scale Solar The U.S. added 34.7 GW of utility-scale solar capacity in 2025, according to SEIA and Wood Mackenzie’s Solar Market Insight Year in Review. That’s a lot of plants being commissioned, handed over, and turned over to O&M teams, many of… Continue reading “New Course: SCADA Communication Systems for Utility-Scale Solar”
New Course: Pre-Construction in Utility-Scale Solar The subcontractors you select, the contracts you put in place, and the commercial foundations you establish before construction starts will shape every aspect of project execution. A well-run pre-construction (pre-con) process is one of the highest-leverage things an EPC can… Continue reading “New Course: Pre-Construction in Utility-Scale Solar”
New Course Announcement: Transformer Specification & Applications for Inverter-Based Resources As many residential solar designers move up into larger C&I and utility-scale projects, the work starts to look pretty different from a rooftop install. Transformer specification is one of those areas where the learning curve shows up fast and where… Continue reading “New Course Announcement: Transformer Specification & Applications for Inverter-Based Resources”
1 FREE NABCEP CEU – How We Got Here: A (Riveting!) History of DER Interconnection in the U.S. If you’ve ever hit a wall on a solar or storage project because of interconnection delays, confusing utility procedures, or regulations that seem to make no sense – this new course is for you. HeatSpring just launched a new, free… Continue reading “1 FREE NABCEP CEU – How We Got Here: A (Riveting!) History of DER Interconnection in the U.S.”
New Course Bundle: Microgrid Essentials with Mayfield Renewables As battery storage costs drop and grid reliability concerns grow, microgrid projects are moving from the margins to the mainstream. The broader energy storage market is surging – the U.S. installed a record 57.6 GWh of new battery storage in… Continue reading “New Course Bundle: Microgrid Essentials with Mayfield Renewables”
Why Just Adding Batteries Won’t Solve Your Interconnection Problems When a solar project gets denied interconnection approval due to grid constraints, the natural impulse is to find a workaround. Can’t export to the grid? Can’t you just add batteries and keep everything on-site? If you’re not sending power back… Continue reading “Why Just Adding Batteries Won’t Solve Your Interconnection Problems “
What is the 120% “Rule” in Solar PV Design? If you’ve spent any time learning about solar PV systems, you’ve probably heard someone mention the 120% “rule.” It turns out that it’s not actually a rule at all. It’s one of several options for connecting solar to the utility… Continue reading “What is the 120% “Rule” in Solar PV Design?”
How Solar Companies Can Get Ahead of Interconnection Challenges Across the country, many solar companies are following the same pattern. They build their interconnection processes around current conditions, assuming approvals will keep flowing seamlessly. The challenges start when saturation hits their local circuits and delays start to become more… Continue reading “How Solar Companies Can Get Ahead of Interconnection Challenges”
Practical Advice for Adding Energy Storage to Your Solar Business The transition from solar-only to solar plus storage doesn’t require a complete business overhaul, but it does require sound strategy. HeatSpring instructor Wes Kennedy shares actionable advice for solar companies ready to integrate more energy storage: how to identify markets… Continue reading “Practical Advice for Adding Energy Storage to Your Solar Business”
Common Misconceptions About Interconnection When interconnection problems arise, it’s easy to assume the utility is the villain by actively blocking clean energy projects or acting in bad faith. In some instances, that can be true. It turns out the reality is far more complex… Continue reading “Common Misconceptions About Interconnection”
Why Solar Professionals Can’t Afford to Ignore Interconnection Anymore The assumption that solar projects submitted to utilities would automatically be approved used to be standard operating procedure in jurisdictions with established interconnection policies. Unfortunately, those days are over in many places. As solar deployment has accelerated, interconnection delays and… Continue reading “Why Solar Professionals Can’t Afford to Ignore Interconnection Anymore”