[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?”
5 Basic Elements You Need to Know to Finance any Solar Project 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. Second only to long term, clear and… Continue reading “5 Basic Elements You Need to Know to Finance any Solar Project”
16 Questions Every Profitable Solar Startup Should Be Able to Answer We recently installed a chat feature on HeatSpring so that we could better assist visitors and customers with any questions they may have. Last week, I had a great conversation with a fellow from New Jersey who was looking to… Continue reading “16 Questions Every Profitable Solar Startup Should Be Able to Answer”
The IREC 2010 US Solar Trends Report, 3 Things It Means for Solar Contractors. A few week’s ago, I wrote about SEIA’s solar market research and what this means for you, the solar contractor. Recently, IREC released their annual solar market report with the optimistic title: “Solar Markets in the US: Big, Booming, And… Continue reading “The IREC 2010 US Solar Trends Report, 3 Things It Means for Solar Contractors.”
Solar is the Fastest Growing Industry in the US! So What? According to the last report put out by the Solar Energy Industry (SEIA), solar, specifically solar pv is the fastest growing industry in the US. So what? What does this mean for your business or job prospects? How you can… Continue reading “Solar is the Fastest Growing Industry in the US! So What?”
2 Things Electricians Should Ask Themselves When Going Solar At HeatSpring Learning Institute, we do a lot of NABCEP solar training for electricians who are going to be starting companies in solar or moving their existing business into solar. After 4 years and 500 solar alumni who have gone through… Continue reading “2 Things Electricians Should Ask Themselves When Going Solar”
How You Can Use Geothermal To Gain LEED Certification Here is an excerpt from a white paper I just published on how and where a ground source heat pump can be utilized to gain LEED certification. By now, nearly everyone has at least heard of LEED but not many… Continue reading “How You Can Use Geothermal To Gain LEED Certification”
6 Ways to Not Waste Your Money on Solar Training BUYER BEWARE; when purchasing training, there are a lot of training providers coming into the market. Some are good, but some are bad. You’re smart–just do your homework. Everyone looking to get into solar industry should take some quality technical… Continue reading “6 Ways to Not Waste Your Money on Solar Training”
The 9 Best Geothermal and Solar Resources on the Internet This is a simple post. Here are our favorite solar and geothermal resources we’ve run into (or created!) over the past couple years that are really useful resources for understanding the technology, basic design, policy and sales of solar and… Continue reading “The 9 Best Geothermal and Solar Resources on the Internet”
SRECs…The Heartbeat of the Solar Industry What the SREC (Solar Renewable Energy Credit) has done for the solar power industry is akin to what the Ford industry did for the affordable car over a hudred years ago.
Sollega: Developing the Fastest Mounting and Grounding Solar Racking for Flat Roofs Module prices have been drastically dropping. The result is that companies are increasingly focused on using software to decrease business overhead but there has also been a huge focus on driving down Balance of System (BOS) costs, namely racking. This… Continue reading “Sollega: Developing the Fastest Mounting and Grounding Solar Racking for Flat Roofs”
How to Avoid Costly Mistakes When Selling Solar: An Interview with Andy Black from On Grid Solar Anyone who is anyone in the solar industry has heard of and probably knows who Andy Black of On Grid Solar is. Andy created, as far as I know it, the first solar sales tool in 2005 which continues to… Continue reading “How to Avoid Costly Mistakes When Selling Solar: An Interview with Andy Black from On Grid Solar”
What Is The Value of the NABCEP Certification? The North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) has become the primary certification entity for the solar industry and they continue to add more certifications. There is continued debate online about the value of the certifications. Some states are… Continue reading “What Is The Value of the NABCEP Certification?”