Lessons Learned from Selling a Solar Company to SunEdison Now that hard installation costs are dropping rapidly in the solar pv industry, everyone’s looking at how to decrease soft costs. Across the board support for decreasing solar’s soft costs is the result of how well organized the industry is… Continue reading “Lessons Learned from Selling a Solar Company to SunEdison”
Solar Shingles Are Available – Does Anyone Care? I remember many years ago, there was a lot of emphasis and news around solar shingles. Why? Because 3 or 4 years ago many people thought that the look of solar photovoltaic modules would hinder adoption and the whole industry… Continue reading “Solar Shingles Are Available – Does Anyone Care?”
The Battle to Reduce Solar’s “Soft Costs” is Starting and How it Can Increase Your Solar Company’s Profits The solar industry is going through massive change. Module and balance and systems prices are dropping quickly, there has been an influx of new products, financing is becoming commoditized and the solar supply chain is shifting rapidly. The results of… Continue reading “The Battle to Reduce Solar’s “Soft Costs” is Starting and How it Can Increase Your Solar Company’s Profits”
Let’s be Honest, This is Not a Solar Trade War with China As recent news of a “solar trade war” has emerged, I’ve searched for words to convey my opinion on the situation. From the point of a solar installer and the whole industry for that matter, one thing is clear. Lower prices… Continue reading “Let’s be Honest, This is Not a Solar Trade War with China”
IGSHPA Installer Accreditation Versus Vertical Loop Installer (Driller) Accreditation In the past, we’ve written a few articles about what exactly the IGSHPA accreditation is, if it’s worthwhile, and when contractors should get it. The International Ground Source Heat Pump Association (IGSHPA) now has a separate program for drillers, called “Vertical… Continue reading “IGSHPA Installer Accreditation Versus Vertical Loop Installer (Driller) Accreditation”
A Couple DIY Solar Thermal Ideas For You I didn’t go to engineering school, but I love engineering and prototyping. I love thinking about systems, how to maximize output (or whatever your goal is) depending on the constraints whether it be space, time, or money. From concept, to design,… Continue reading “A Couple DIY Solar Thermal Ideas For You”
Solar Financing Options and the Benefits of Each The residential, commercial and utility scale solar financing markets are different and have their own dynamics. If you’re really interested in learn more about financing commercial solar PV projects, I have three resources for you. Click here to sign up… Continue reading “Solar Financing Options and the Benefits of Each”
How to Create a Solar PPA Today the US solar market is booming–67% growth in 2010, according to SEIAs 2010 Solar Market Trends Report–easily the fastest growing industry in the US. In the US Solar photovoltaic market, there are largely two main obstacles to growth. The… Continue reading “How to Create a Solar PPA”
HS TV Ep 3. How to Study for the NABCEP Certification HeatSpring TV is coming along nicely. We’re planning on having a combination of interviews and conversations with other industry experts, myself presenting news stories and how it affect contractors, or Brian and I discussing a specific topic. In this episode,… Continue reading “HS TV Ep 3. How to Study for the NABCEP Certification”
[Photo Guide] How to Install A Solar Thermal System You’ve held a solar thermal workshop and generated some leads, prepared a solid sales presentation, sold your first job, designed the system and now you’re curious about the installation process. While the installation process may not take a long time compared… Continue reading “[Photo Guide] How to Install A Solar Thermal System”
Designing a “Sellable” Solar (or Geothermal) Company – Part 2 In my last post, I wrote about my marketing plan for starting a renewable energy company that will be an offshoot of an existing construction company in the great state of Maine. Now, I’m going to discuss how we’ll be setting up… Continue reading “Designing a “Sellable” Solar (or Geothermal) Company – Part 2″
Commercial Developers Begin to Seek Solar Expertise Chad Gessin, VP at Chatham Energy Solutions, took HeatSpring’s “Solar Installer Boot Camp” in June 2011 while he was developing the solar division in a third-generation construction development company. Read below for the full story and join HeatSpring facebook page:… Continue reading “Commercial Developers Begin to Seek Solar Expertise”
[Free Whitepaper] Solar Thermal Design and Installation 101 As the traction for the solar thermal industry grows, solar thermal SRECs being developed, and Massachusetts revamping solar thermal incentives, the demand for understanding how solar thermal projects work as well as how to design and install them has been… Continue reading “[Free Whitepaper] Solar Thermal Design and Installation 101”
Universities Can be a Great Market for Geo and Solar Recently, I spoke with Nathalie Assens at Project Manager at ZVI Construction. ZVI Construction is a medium size, three-decade old, design-build construction company that does a lot of work with universities around Boston as well as internationally. Nathalie enrolled in… Continue reading “Universities Can be a Great Market for Geo and Solar”
Solar Thermal Is Finally Gaining Traction For the past 5 years solar photovoltaics (pv) has been capturing more than its fare share of media attention, government attention and, I would argue, market growth. But there seems to be signs that this trend is reversing. It’s not… Continue reading “Solar Thermal Is Finally Gaining Traction”
The 4 Ownership Structures Used to Finance Solar Projects – Part 1 If you’re new to the solar industry, go to the Solar 101 Reading list. It has free tools and articles on solar design and installation, sales and marketing, policy, finance and best practices. In the last post we discussed the… Continue reading “The 4 Ownership Structures Used to Finance Solar Projects – Part 1”
The 5 Criteria You Should Use When Selecting a (Good) Solar Distributor If you’re getting into the solar industry, read the 16 questions that every profitable solar company can answer. It will give you a good understanding of the business strategy, sales, marketing and installation questions you must answer as a new… Continue reading “The 5 Criteria You Should Use When Selecting a (Good) Solar Distributor”
3 Expert Led Free Coures on SRECs, Geothermal Tax Credits and Solar Lead Generation Our first free course was a huge success. How to Make Money in Renewable Energy had a great turnout, well over 140 attendees with solid content helpful to newcomers to the industry. With such interest, we have decided to expand… Continue reading “3 Expert Led Free Coures on SRECs, Geothermal Tax Credits and Solar Lead Generation”
The Solar Interconnection Process 101 The “interconnection process” is the processes by which an electric generating facility (solar, wind, biomass, coal, etc) is allowed to connect to and supply the grid with power. The interconnection process is sometimes overlooked by new solar companies but it’s very important… Continue reading “The Solar Interconnection Process 101”
What’s Special About IGSHPA Geothermal Installer Certification? Do you Really Need it? It’s a good and valid question. If you’re curious what certification is, you can see here: What is the IGSHPA Certification? But more importantly, what is the value of IGSHPA certification in the marketplace – who is it valuable for… Continue reading “What’s Special About IGSHPA Geothermal Installer Certification? Do you Really Need it?”