Free 2020 NEC Training for Solar PV The 2020 NEC has just been released and you should know all about it! Our new course Photovoltaics and the 2020 National Electric Code (NEC) will be FREE for the rest of the year. Bill Brooks and Sean White published the… Continue reading “Free 2020 NEC Training for Solar PV”
Three Solar Industry Trends for Beginners–and Some Important Perspective on Them If you’re new to the solar industry, you should keep an eye on three trends, says Sean White, instructor of HeatSpring’s 58-hour NABCEP Advanced Solar PV Training Series. With prices of solar and energy storage dropping, it’s easy to get… Continue reading “Three Solar Industry Trends for Beginners–and Some Important Perspective on Them”
Avoid These Three Silly Mistakes about Solar–and Escape Embarrassment When you’re discussing the details of a solar energy system, it’s easy to slip up in embarrassing ways. Even solar company CEOs commit common mistakes, says Sean White, instructor of HeatSpring’s 58-hour NABCEP Advanced Solar PV Training Series. His courses… Continue reading “Avoid These Three Silly Mistakes about Solar–and Escape Embarrassment”
Bigger Projects, Faster Design, Better ROI – Why “Megawatt Design” Exists and Whom it’s For “Megawatt Design” was an ambitious new course for solar designers created by Ryan Mayfield and SolarPro Magazine in 2014. The course has been continuously improved and today the content is more relevant than ever. Ryan, Randy Batchelor, and Jennifer Alfsen… Continue reading “Bigger Projects, Faster Design, Better ROI – Why “Megawatt Design” Exists and Whom it’s For”
Helping Non-Profits Understand the Urgency of the Solar Tax Credit Phase-Out It’s vital that non-profits understand the urgency of the phase-out of the federal solar tax credits, says Keith Cronin, co-instructor for HeatSpring’s Solar Executive MBA Training course. Because non-profits tend to be cautious, don’t focus on tax credits, and move… Continue reading “Helping Non-Profits Understand the Urgency of the Solar Tax Credit Phase-Out”
How Can NGOs Access Valuable Federal Solar Tax Credits? Non-governmental organizations (NGOs), which are nonprofit entities that operate independently of any government, aren’t able to directly utilize federal tax credits available for solar, says Chris Lord, instructor of HeatSpring’s Solar Finance Masters Series and other courses. Here’s the problem: By… Continue reading “How Can NGOs Access Valuable Federal Solar Tax Credits?”
Join us at the Oregon Solar Energy Conference The Oregon Solar Energy Conference is the most robust regional solar energy conference in the nation, and returns to Portland, Oregon this year May 7-9. They will continue with their dedicated contractor day on May 7th, in coordination with the… Continue reading “Join us at the Oregon Solar Energy Conference”
With Inexpensive PV, These Three Strategies are no Longer Solar Sins Ten years ago, solar PV cost 10 times more than what it does now. That means solar installers can now embrace three strategies that were once considered solar sins. That’s the word from Sean White, instructor of HeatSpring’s 40-Hour Solar Advanced PV… Continue reading “With Inexpensive PV, These Three Strategies are no Longer Solar Sins”
How to Tackle the Difficult Task of Sizing Wires in Your Solar Arrays It’s not so easy to size wires in solar arrays, says Sean White, instructor of HeatSpring’s NABCEP PV Installation Professional Certification Exam Prep and CEUs course. The problem: the National Electrical Code (NEC) can be befuddling. His courses that focus on… Continue reading “How to Tackle the Difficult Task of Sizing Wires in Your Solar Arrays”
The Solar ITC to Take its First Step Down, While Rapid Shutdown Moves Forward The 2017 National Electrical Code (NEC) and the federal solar investment tax credit (ITC) will leave their mark on the solar industry in 2019, with the NEC increasing costs temporarily and the ITC lowering incentives. That’s the word from Ryan Mayfield… Continue reading “The Solar ITC to Take its First Step Down, While Rapid Shutdown Moves Forward”
Businesses are Squeezing More Solar out of Their Property with These Two Trends More and more, businesses are looking for ways to squeeze more solar out of their available property, and have embraced two trends to do just that, says Ryan Mayfield, co-instructor of HeatSpring’s Megawatt Design course, which focuses on designing large… Continue reading “Businesses are Squeezing More Solar out of Their Property with These Two Trends”
Why Did the Residential Solar-Plus-Storage Market Grow Tenfold Last Year? In some ways, homeowners’ romantic notions of being energy independent fueled the recent growth in residential solar-plus-storage, says Wes Kennedy, instructor of HeatSpring’s Comprehensive Solar-Plus-Storage course. The residential market was the fastest-moving market in solar-plus-storage, growing tenfold between 2017 and… Continue reading “Why Did the Residential Solar-Plus-Storage Market Grow Tenfold Last Year?”
Stacking, Microgrids, and Other Trends Moving the Solar-Plus-Storage Industry Early adopters of solar-plus-storage have their eye on “stacking” the benefits of storage, which would allow for storage owners to be compensated by utilities or regional transmission organizations for more than one benefit, says Wes Kennedy, instructor of HeatSpring’s Comprehensive… Continue reading “Stacking, Microgrids, and Other Trends Moving the Solar-Plus-Storage Industry”
3 Lessons I Learned From Collaboration It was early 2002 and the idea of a solar PPA was in its infancy. I got an email from a guy from BP Solar seeing if I was interested in buying some solar panels. His name was Jigar Shah.… Continue reading “3 Lessons I Learned From Collaboration”
How to sell a utility scale solar project There is constant interest from developers looking to sell their solar projects. How can you get a piece of this lucrative opportunity and help wean us all off of dirty fossil fuels? Solar development breaks down into three essential steps:… Continue reading “How to sell a utility scale solar project”
How Mineral Rights Can Kill Your Solar Farm Deal There is probably nothing more frustrating than spending months talking to land owners and learning late in the program that the deal is dead. How much did you invest in time and money knocking on doors and drumming up engineering… Continue reading “How Mineral Rights Can Kill Your Solar Farm Deal”
NABCEP PV Associate Course in Niagara Falls NY HeatSpring instructor Dr. Sean White will be teaching a NABCEP PV Associate Course at the upcoming NABCEP Continuing Education Conference in Niagara Falls, NY on March 19-22. This is a great opportunity to get your NABCEP PV Associate credential and… Continue reading “NABCEP PV Associate Course in Niagara Falls NY”
Studying for the Gold Standard NABCEP Exam with More Laughs, Less Caffeine and More Certification Options Sean White promises that studying for the NABCEP PV Installation Professional (PVIP) exam with his “40-hour Advanced Solar PV Training” course won’t be tedious or boring. “When I’m talking to the class, I try to make it like it’s in… Continue reading “Studying for the Gold Standard NABCEP Exam with More Laughs, Less Caffeine and More Certification Options”
Inspiring Others to Create Bigger, Impactful Solar Projects Randy Batchelor was inspired by a high school science teacher to follow a career path in engineering, and his passion for the environment led him to work in the solar industry. Now, as instructor of HeatSpring’s Megawatt Design course, along… Continue reading “Inspiring Others to Create Bigger, Impactful Solar Projects”
When, Where, and How Can I Take the NABCEP PV Installation Professional Certification Exam? As you may have heard, the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) has changed the options for taking their PV Installation Professional certification exam. In past years, the exam was offered twice a year (April and October) at… Continue reading “When, Where, and How Can I Take the NABCEP PV Installation Professional Certification Exam?”