Interview: Battery Expert Christopher LaForge on the Tesla Powerwall The debut of the Tesla Powerwall has made quite a splash in many circles. Claiming to outperform current battery systems for solar, it has the potential to make a large impact on the storage side of the production of solar… Continue reading “Interview: Battery Expert Christopher LaForge on the Tesla Powerwall”
4 Reasons Commissioning on Larger Solar PV Systems is Important The article below is an excerpt from the discussion board of our last Solar Executive MBA cohort. Student A and Student B are interested in learning more about: The importance of commissioning on larger solar systems The potential volatility of SRECs… Continue reading “4 Reasons Commissioning on Larger Solar PV Systems is Important”
Interview: Financial Models and Sample Documents for Commercial Solar Projects I recently spoke with Chris Lord and Keith Cronin about some of the financial modeling tools and sample documents that they frequently use to teach solar professionals working on commercial projects. Chris and Keith, who co-teach our Solar Executive MBA… Continue reading “Interview: Financial Models and Sample Documents for Commercial Solar Projects”
The Top Challenges with Technical Qualification for Commercial Solar Projects This article will provide a snapshot of the current technical challenges that engineers and project managers face with the technical qualification of solar projects. Project qualification is a critical part of the commercial solar sales process. It’s where sales, technical… Continue reading “The Top Challenges with Technical Qualification for Commercial Solar Projects”
NABCEP Certification: How To Get It, What It’s Worth This is a presentation I gave this week in Cleveland at the ElectroExpo. The audience was pretty small, just fifteen folks attended, so it turned into an intimate conversation rather than a formal presentation. An honest discussion about business, renewable… Continue reading “NABCEP Certification: How To Get It, What It’s Worth”
Online IGSHPA Geothermal Certification Course Now Available Between 2007 and 2011, we helped certify several thousand geothermal installers at 3-day workshops around the country. Oil and gas were expensive, and the industry was going through a big growth spurt. Over the past several years that growth has… Continue reading “Online IGSHPA Geothermal Certification Course Now Available”
Why We Chose HeatSpring as Our Educational Partner Mark Eatherton, Executive Director, Radiant Professionals Alliance authored the below article. We had a chance to see Mark at the ASHRAE conference a few weeks ago and when we told him we’d love to feature him in HeatSpring Magazine, he sent us… Continue reading “Why We Chose HeatSpring as Our Educational Partner”
Great Expectations: The Ten Most Common Mistakes of Solar Businesses and How to Avoid Them This article is a guest post from Bill Rever, Owner and Principal at WB Rever Associates. Bill spent ten years in senior strategic roles at BP Solar where he helped launch new products and companies. He’s advised some of the… Continue reading “Great Expectations: The Ten Most Common Mistakes of Solar Businesses and How to Avoid Them”
Vote: Top 6 Finalists in HeatSpring’s Solar Startup Competition It’s time to start the voting for HeatSpring’s Solar Startup Alley competition. ***QUICK REMINDER: A vote means that you’re ACTUALLY interested in scheduling a sales call or demo with the company that you choose!*** On December 1st, 2014, we introduced our… Continue reading “Vote: Top 6 Finalists in HeatSpring’s Solar Startup Competition”
Christopher LaForge: Battery Capacity – The Basis of Storage The article below was written by Christopher LaForge, NABCEP Certified PV Installation Professional and IREC Certified Master Trainer. Christopher LaForge teaches Batteries in Solar PV Systems, a 6-week course that provides in-depth analysis of the issues surrounding the use of batteries for… Continue reading “Christopher LaForge: Battery Capacity – The Basis of Storage”
[Interview] Grid Storage Economics and Policy 101 There has been a huge amount of buzz about storage lately with more press hitting every week. SCE signed 250MW worth of contracts, Sandia is investing in battery reliability studies, the Navy is investing in micro-grids, Texas is evaluating storage, and New Jersey has issued… Continue reading “[Interview] Grid Storage Economics and Policy 101”
Give the Gift of Education! Learn more about our NEW gift certificates below! We started getting calls this holiday season from smart gift givers… “Do you sell gift certificates?” We didn’t, but thanks to the smart, inquisitive gift givers calling us, we do now. That’s… Continue reading “Give the Gift of Education!”
Apply for HeatSpring’s Online Solar Startup Alley* Competition – Deadline: December 12th *Startups include small businesses and new ventures with revenues of less than $1 million. I’m really excited to announce our online solar startup competition. We created the competition because we noticed within our 6-week Solar Startup Accelerator that the single largest… Continue reading “Apply for HeatSpring’s Online Solar Startup Alley* Competition – Deadline: December 12th”
“Cover of the Solar Pro” = Amazing Solar Marketing Video If you’re in the solar industry, or a fan of renewable energy and small business, it’s impossible to watch this video and not smile: I don’t have any deep insights or tips to share on this, I just wanted more… Continue reading ““Cover of the Solar Pro” = Amazing Solar Marketing Video”
Get All the Tools and Advice You Need to Start a Solar Business We’re launching the first online solar startup accelerator in the winter of 2015 so you can get all of the tools and advice you need to start your solar business. Here’s why: The solar industry grew 36% in 2014, creating tons… Continue reading “Get All the Tools and Advice You Need to Start a Solar Business”
What Commercial Solar Developers Need to Know about Yieldcos If you’d like to listen the interview, please scroll to the middle of the article. There’s been a huge amount of buzz about yieldcos and their potential impact on financing more commercial solar projects by providing cheaper capital. There have been… Continue reading “What Commercial Solar Developers Need to Know about Yieldcos”
How Massachusett’s Alternative Energy Credit Prices Will Impact Heat Pump and Biomass Operating Costs We passed the Massachusetts “Clean Heat Bill” in July 2014. The final bill number is S. 2214. The bill created a production-based incentive, similar to solar PV renewable energy credits (SRECs), for renewable thermal technologies including solar thermal, air source heat… Continue reading “How Massachusett’s Alternative Energy Credit Prices Will Impact Heat Pump and Biomass Operating Costs”
Community Solar 101 There’s been a lot of buzz about community solar lately. While the amount of investment in community solar projects is a fraction of the investment of the entire solar industry, there are a few leaders who recognize the incredible potential… Continue reading “Community Solar 101”
Understand the Key Grounding and Bonding Standards for Commercial Solar PV Projects in Less Than 30 Minutes What are the differences between grounding and bonding in solar design? What are the most recent codes? Where are the codes headed? What are some of the changes that have happened? What does it mean for you and your installations? In… Continue reading “Understand the Key Grounding and Bonding Standards for Commercial Solar PV Projects in Less Than 30 Minutes”
How to Handle Unknown Risk to Increase Solar Project Success Image: Universe of Issues, Risks, and Challenges This is a guest article from Chris Lord, Managing Director at CapIron, Inc. He’s a former lawyer with extensive banking experience who now consults with solar developers and investors. I’ve never met anyone… Continue reading “How to Handle Unknown Risk to Increase Solar Project Success”