Team Highlight: How Solar United Neighbors Works to Build a New Energy System and Bring the Benefits of Solar to All Communities Solar United Neighbors (SUN) has been representing the needs and interests of solar owners and supporters across the country since 2007. SUN envisions a clean, equitable energy system that directs control and benefits back to local communities, with solar on… Continue reading “Team Highlight: How Solar United Neighbors Works to Build a New Energy System and Bring the Benefits of Solar to All Communities”
Ask an Expert: What are 3 things a solar business could improve upon to see higher revenue? In the Ask an Expert series, HeatSpring instructors and industry thought leaders answer a question on the minds of the HeatSpring community. We are joined by Keith Cronin, instructor of the Solar Business Masterclass. Keith answers the question – what… Continue reading “Ask an Expert: What are 3 things a solar business could improve upon to see higher revenue?”
Live Commissioning (Cx) Class with 8 PDHs Launching March 18th If you’re ready for a deep-dive into Commissioning (Cx), Khaled Yousef is ready to give it to you. He’s teaching a one (full) day commissioning course on March 18th. This course has been evaluated and approved by the Practicing Institute… Continue reading “Live Commissioning (Cx) Class with 8 PDHs Launching March 18th”
Solar Job Highlight: Executive Leadership in Construction As a part of HeatSpring’s free Solar Career Pathways course, professionals from across the solar industry provide students with an inside look at their careers through short interviews. Professionals share the details on what their jobs entail, their day-to-day activities,… Continue reading “Solar Job Highlight: Executive Leadership in Construction”
Be Worth the Wait Let me guess – You’re booked out months. The phone rings steadily, and you’re turning people away because you can’t come out until the spring or summer. One of my clients – a residential energy contractor in Oregon – turned… Continue reading “Be Worth the Wait”
Ask an Expert: What Is the Best Practice for Commissioning a Residential PV System with Battery Backup? HeatSpring Magazine is launching a new series, Ask an Expert, where HeatSpring instructors and industry thought leaders answer a question on the minds of the HeatSpring community. In this inaugural Ask an Expert, we are joined by Designing Small Scale… Continue reading “Ask an Expert: What Is the Best Practice for Commissioning a Residential PV System with Battery Backup?”
The Basics of Utility Transmission for Utility-Scale Solar Access to high voltage transmission lines is integral for utility-scale solar projects. Transmission is part of the high voltage system that connects generation (like utility-scale solar power plants or coal-fired power plants) with load centers, subtransmission, and distribution. Essentially, high… Continue reading “The Basics of Utility Transmission for Utility-Scale Solar”
New Course: Connecting Utility-Scale Solar PV to Distribution Systems The United States is forecasted to add an additional 21.8 GW of utility-scale solar in 2022 and 24.1 GW in 2023, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. In fact, they expect solar additions to account for nearly half of… Continue reading “New Course: Connecting Utility-Scale Solar PV to Distribution Systems”
Addressing Common Hazards on Solar Installation Projects Safety should always be the top priority on solar installations. Running a safe jobsite means properly managing the risk that your team faces each day. In solar installation work, your installation team regularly faces what the Occupational Safety and Health… Continue reading “Addressing Common Hazards on Solar Installation Projects”
Solar Job Highlight: Solar Service Technician As a part of HeatSpring’s free Solar Career Pathways course, professionals from across the solar industry provide students with an inside look at their careers through bite-sized interviews. Professionals share the details on what their jobs entail, their day-to-day activities,… Continue reading “Solar Job Highlight: Solar Service Technician”
Women of Renewable Industries and Sustainable Energy (WRISE) Leadership Forum Kicks Off Its Second Year Hosting Virtually The Women of Renewable Industries and Sustainable Energy (WRISE) Leadership Forum will be held virtually from February 22-24, 2022 with speakers and attendees joining from across the country. The Leadership Forum is an annual, one-of-a-kind professional opportunity that includes career… Continue reading “Women of Renewable Industries and Sustainable Energy (WRISE) Leadership Forum Kicks Off Its Second Year Hosting Virtually”
Reimagining Disaster Response with Solar Generators: A Conversation with Footprint Project HeatSpring’s Brit Heller connected with Will Heegaard, Operations Director, and Jamie Swezey, Program Coordinator, at Footprint Project. They help build back greener after climate disasters by mobilizing cleaner energy to communities in crisis. Footprint Project develops and deploys mobile solar… Continue reading “Reimagining Disaster Response with Solar Generators: A Conversation with Footprint Project”
Recycling PV Equipment – Why We All Should Be Talking About the End-Of-Life of Solar PV Systems: A Conversation with Kate Collardson of SolarRecycle.org HeatSpring’s Brit Heller sits down with Kate Collardson, one of the founders of SolarRecycle.org, about the need for the solar industry to begin addressing solar power plant’s decommissioning and recycling for projects as they are being built today in order… Continue reading “Recycling PV Equipment – Why We All Should Be Talking About the End-Of-Life of Solar PV Systems: A Conversation with Kate Collardson of SolarRecycle.org”
New Free Course: Solar Career Pathways Solar power will account for nearly half of new U.S. electric generating capacity in 2022, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. With large increases in solar capacity comes huge increases in solar jobs. To showcase the abundance of opportunities… Continue reading “New Free Course: Solar Career Pathways”
Chris LaForge Updates and Improves “Designing Small Scale PV Systems with Energy Storage” Energy storage is the fastest moving area within the solar energy industry. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates that 10 GW of battery storage capacity will be added to the grid over the next two years. As more storage is… Continue reading “Chris LaForge Updates and Improves “Designing Small Scale PV Systems with Energy Storage””
Tiny Home Courses Land on HeatSpring Much has changed over the past few years. The realm of what’s possible at our jobs and how we live has broadened. While tiny home living has been growing for years, the pandemic has accelerated the movement. Between the (lack… Continue reading “Tiny Home Courses Land on HeatSpring”
Selecting DAS Equipment on Utility Scale PV Projects Data acquisition systems (DAS) are often employed on small utility scale solar projects to gather information about the performance and conditions of a site. Various sensors, meters, and equipment collect the data that must then be evaluated and visualized within… Continue reading “Selecting DAS Equipment on Utility Scale PV Projects”
Agrivoltaics in Action – Jack’s Solar Garden Connecting the dots between clean energy, local food, and community building may seem like a utopian dream, but for Byron Kominek, founder of Jack’s Solar Garden, it is an intentional undertaking that has been generations in the making. By co-locating… Continue reading “Agrivoltaics in Action – Jack’s Solar Garden”
Agrivoltaics: a multi-faceted approach to climate change Climate change affects everyone and farmers are feeling the pressure now more than ever. Higher temperatures, dwindling water supplies, and a challenging economy are pushing farmers to explore new revenue streams and opportunities for their land. What is agrivoltaics? Local… Continue reading “Agrivoltaics: a multi-faceted approach to climate change”
Scott Sklar’s New and Improved “Solar Power 101” Course Amory Lovins, Co-Founder of the Rocky Mountain Institute, says “Scott Sklar is a walking encyclopedia of American renewable energy.” He’s not kidding. 2,500 solar professionals have taken Scott’s “Solar Power 101” course, which was created in 2014. The material held… Continue reading “Scott Sklar’s New and Improved “Solar Power 101” Course”