Managing the Moving Targets of Getting a Solar Power Purchase Agreement Signed Getting a power purchase agreement (PPA) signed for a solar project requires juggling numerous tasks–all of them moving targets, says Chris Lord, instructor of HeatSpring’s Solar Executive MBA Training course. It’s not easy to maneuver through this process and rope… Continue reading “Managing the Moving Targets of Getting a Solar Power Purchase Agreement Signed”
Do Your Financial Modeling for Solar, and Keep Your Eye on What Qualifies for the ITC When you’re creating financial models for solar projects, it’s important to understand what qualifies for the solar investment tax credit (ITC), says Chris Lord, instructor of HeatSpring’s Financial Modeling for Solar PV course. And it’s also critical to begin your modeling… Continue reading “Do Your Financial Modeling for Solar, and Keep Your Eye on What Qualifies for the ITC”
Why 4 Out of 5 Solar Companies Don’t Advertise Often in the solar industry, the debate about advertising or not strikes a nerve. Many clients and people I know resist any sort of advertising as they believe it’s a waste of money and their time. They have good reason… Continue reading “Why 4 Out of 5 Solar Companies Don’t Advertise”
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”
How Google Quality Score Impacts Cost Per Lead in Solar Paid Search Campaigns In the last article, we did an in-depth analysis of 6 specific search ads for residential solar and we showed how the search engine ad itself can impact the eventual cost per lead, based on the click-through rate of the ad.… Continue reading “How Google Quality Score Impacts Cost Per Lead in Solar Paid Search Campaigns”
In-Depth Analysis of 6 Residential Solar Search Engine Marketing Ads In this article, the Energy Circle Paid Search team analyzed 6 different solar search engine marketing campaigns and will share our analysis on which ads will likely perform well and those that will likely perform poorly and why. After reading… Continue reading “In-Depth Analysis of 6 Residential Solar Search Engine Marketing Ads”
Get Solar Smart and Boost Your Income in the Solar Industry Many solar professionals worry right now that the Trump administration may impose tariffs on solar panels from China, a move that would increase the costs of doing business in the US and spark layoffs in the industry. However, if… Continue reading “Get Solar Smart and Boost Your Income in the Solar Industry”
NABCEP PV Associate Credential Goes International Are you located outside of the United States and interested in earning the NABCEP PV Associate credential? We have great news! You can now take the PV Associate exam at any Castle Worldwide testing center in the world. You could… Continue reading “NABCEP PV Associate Credential Goes International”
“Bring me tariffs!” U.S. Solar Industry Braces After ITC Ruling Friday the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) issued its decision finding “a substantial cause of serious injury to the domestic industry” due to dumping of low cost Chinese solar panels in the U.S. market. By the “domestic industry” the ITC… Continue reading ““Bring me tariffs!” U.S. Solar Industry Braces After ITC Ruling”
New Course Format – Solar Business Masterclass We are excited to introduce a new course format, developed by veteran HeatSpring instructor Keith Cronin. We are now accepting enrollments in Keith’s Solar Business Masterclass. In 2011 Keith helped us develop what would become our most popular course, the… Continue reading “New Course Format – Solar Business Masterclass”
How Do You Address the Biggest Challenge Facing Solar Companies Today? The meteoric rise in solar deployment over the past 10 years didn’t necessarily lead to successful solar companies, says Keith Cronin, founder of SunHedge, based in Kailua, Hawaii and instructor for Heatspring’s Solar Executive MBA Training. As the solar industry grew,… Continue reading “How Do You Address the Biggest Challenge Facing Solar Companies Today?”
How to Get the Word Out About Your Solar Company Getting the word out about your solar company can seem like a daunting task in today’s marketplace. Solar companies servicing a growing number of needs are popping up and disappearing at a rapid rate. However, by being creative, sharing your… Continue reading “How to Get the Word Out About Your Solar Company”
The Trump Administration is Expected to Keep the Solar ITC on Track; Here’s How to Best Take Advantage of it With the Trump administration pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement and scuttling the Clean Power Plan, many in the solar industry wonder whether the schedule of the Investment Tax Credit phase-out for solar projects will be changed. A number… Continue reading “The Trump Administration is Expected to Keep the Solar ITC on Track; Here’s How to Best Take Advantage of it”
How to Get More Clients, Team Members and Profits for Your Solar Business We are excited to announce a new free lecture: How to Get More Clients, Team Members and Profits for Your Solar Business by veteran instructor and solar business expert Keith Cronin! Keith will be hosting live Q&A sessions and answering… Continue reading “How to Get More Clients, Team Members and Profits for Your Solar Business”
Innovative Financing Solutions that Get Solar Energy Projects Up and Running A recent study by Deloitte demonstrated just how interested business owners are in going solar. The study, “Resources 2017 Study – Energy Management: Sustainability & Progress,” found that half of the businesses surveyed said they’re looking to procure more electricity… Continue reading “Innovative Financing Solutions that Get Solar Energy Projects Up and Running”
How Profitable Companies Offer More than Just Solar Would you rather do $5 million in sales with a 20% profit or $10 million in sales with a 10% profit? And what if I said that the $5 million in sales wasn’t all from solar? The most profitable way… Continue reading “How Profitable Companies Offer More than Just Solar”
Why Solar Companies Have Failed and What You Can Do About It You’ve been there. Looking out at your competition, you wonder why they charge so little. And the next company seems to do the same. You feel tempted. Dropping your price. You want the next job. This was the theme from… Continue reading “Why Solar Companies Have Failed and What You Can Do About It”
What is the Largest Opportunity in Energy by 2020 and How to Get Your Piece of It You’re looking for the hottest trend. Newest product. Ways to wow and amaze your family and friends. You want to be a leader. A source of knowledge. An authority. Little secret. You will be, as it relates to the energy… Continue reading “What is the Largest Opportunity in Energy by 2020 and How to Get Your Piece of It”