A Look at Solar Jobs in the United States Did you know that clean energy is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the U.S. economy? According to E2 Clean Jobs America, 3.3 million Americans working in various different roles around clean energy now account for more than 3 percent… Continue reading “A Look at Solar Jobs in the United States”
The Importance of Solar O&M: Ensuring Longevity and Efficiency of Solar Power Plants I’ve now worked in large-scale solar for over ten years, contributing to over 2GW of installations and managing multiple projects exceeding 100MW in capacity. While my career has primarily focused on the development, design, and installation of solar power plants,… Continue reading “The Importance of Solar O&M: Ensuring Longevity and Efficiency of Solar Power Plants”
REAP Grants Can Cover 50% of Eligible Solar Project Costs – So Who’s Eligible? For solar sales professionals, it’s essential to stay informed about the various incentives and programs available to help your customers make the switch to solar energy. One program that is particularly beneficial for farmers and rural small business owners is… Continue reading “REAP Grants Can Cover 50% of Eligible Solar Project Costs – So Who’s Eligible?”
Permitting Requirements To Keep In Mind on Landfill or Brownfield Solar Projects When developing solar projects on landfills or brownfields, it could be easy to assume that the usual environmental considerations don’t apply. After all, these sites are already disturbed, so what’s the harm in adding solar systems? However, as instructor Lucia… Continue reading “Permitting Requirements To Keep In Mind on Landfill or Brownfield Solar Projects”
What is the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP)? The Inflation Reduction Act provided many incentives for clean energy adoption across the United States. Included in the legislation was a major boost to the already existing Rural Energy for America Program (also known as REAP). REAP helps agricultural producers… Continue reading “What is the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP)? “
What are Landfills and Why Are They Great Candidates for Solar Development? Solar on landfills is seeing a major boost in many places across the country. States like Maryland, New Jersey, and New York, are encouraging or incentivizing the repurposing of closed landfills, also known as brownfields, to generate clean, renewable energy… Continue reading “What are Landfills and Why Are They Great Candidates for Solar Development? “
What Makes Someone a Qualified Person? Here at HeatSpring, we get a lot of questions that are along the lines of… “what course can I take to make me qualified?” To that we answer, there’s no quick fix or single course that can make you qualified… Continue reading “What Makes Someone a Qualified Person?”
Key Elements of a Safety Program Creating a strong safety program is a critical, yet sometimes overlooked, aspect of running a successful solar installation company. It’s not just about meeting bare-minimum regulatory requirements or avoiding accidents; it’s about fostering a work environment where every team member… Continue reading “Key Elements of a Safety Program”
FERC Orders 1920 and 1977 – What’s the Bottom Line? The recent buzz in the electric transmission industry, which is a key part of utility-scale renewables growth, is the May 13th issuing of FERC Order 1920 and FERC Order 1977 . FERC Order 1920 FERC Order 1920, “Building for the… Continue reading “FERC Orders 1920 and 1977 – What’s the Bottom Line?”
Solar Job Highlight: Chief Operating Officer at Sẽsẽnergi As a part of HeatSpring’s free Solar Career Pathways course, professionals from across the solar industry share an inside look at their careers through short interviews. Professionals talk about the details of what their jobs entail, their day-to-day activities, how… Continue reading “Solar Job Highlight: Chief Operating Officer at Sẽsẽnergi”
Performance-Based Solar and Storage Incentives When your customers are considering solar and storage solutions for their home or business, it’s essential to understand the various incentives available to help offset the initial investment and provide ongoing benefits. In this blog post, we hear from Spencer… Continue reading “Performance-Based Solar and Storage Incentives”
How Do Companies Start a Safety Program? Safety is the cornerstone of any successful construction business, especially in the solar industry where workers are exposed to various hazards – like working at heights and electrical hazards – on a daily basis. If you are a leader at… Continue reading “How Do Companies Start a Safety Program?”
Which NABCEP is right for you? Let’s Use a Mind Map to Find Out! Navigating the different NABCEP certifications and credentials can be difficult if you aren’t immersed in the details day in and day out. NABCEP offers one credential (which is the PV Associate) along with 7 professional certifications. What’s the difference between… Continue reading “Which NABCEP is right for you? Let’s Use a Mind Map to Find Out!”
Why Do Companies Need a Safety Program? In the solar industry, safety should never be just a buzzword or a box to check off on a list of requirements. It is a fundamental principle that should be ingrained in the fabric of every company’s culture. It feels… Continue reading “Why Do Companies Need a Safety Program?”
Solar Job Highlight: Founder at Agrivoltaics Project Development Firm Meet Savannah Whitfield. She is the COO and Co-Founder of Okovate Sustainable Energy. They’re on a mission to make community solar deployment more sustainable through agrivoltaics and dual-use habitat development. Okovate recognizes the challenges faced by farmers in today’s economic… Continue reading “Solar Job Highlight: Founder at Agrivoltaics Project Development Firm”
The Residential Clean Energy Tax Credit – Is it refundable? Essentially every single homeowner in U.S. who purchases a solar PV system for their home is going to be applying for the Residential Clean Energy Tax Credit (also often called the Investment Tax Credit or ITC), currently a 30% federal… Continue reading “The Residential Clean Energy Tax Credit – Is it refundable?”
New Bundle Announcement: 2023 Electrical & Fire Codes for Energy Storage Systems Ryan Mayfield and the Mayfield Renewables team are back on HeatSpring. We are excited to welcome Ryan – engineer, educator, and technical committee member – back to our platform with his latest course bundle – 2023 Electrical & Fire Codes… Continue reading “New Bundle Announcement: 2023 Electrical & Fire Codes for Energy Storage Systems”
What Are You Allowed to Have in a NABCEP Certification Exam? Feeling nervous to take a big exam is totally normal. Being well prepared can help to minimize the pre-exam jitters. In this blog post, we’re going to cover what you need to know about what you can have in your… Continue reading “What Are You Allowed to Have in a NABCEP Certification Exam?”
The Four Categories to Qualify for the Low Income Community Bonus Adder The Low Income Community Bonus Adder provision in the Inflation Reduction Act is different from all the other bonus adders and the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) itself, because it is an allocated credit. That means there is a limited number… Continue reading “The Four Categories to Qualify for the Low Income Community Bonus Adder”
What Are Demand Charges for Commercial Customers? It’s often a natural career progression within solar sales to begin in residential solar and then progress to working with more commercial customers. The reason being is the sales cycle for commercial clients tends to be much more complex than… Continue reading “What Are Demand Charges for Commercial Customers?”