IREC’s New Courses on EV Charging Infrastructure I’m hyped up about a new partnership between HeatSpring and the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) to help utilities and local governments deploy electric vehicle charging infrastructure more efficiently. The journey from planning to powering up can make or break… Continue reading “IREC’s New Courses on EV Charging Infrastructure”
New Free Course Announcement: Introduction to Software for Battery Systems While utility-scale solar and battery systems are transforming our energy infrastructure, finding comprehensive, accessible education on the software that powers these systems can be challenging. Most available training focuses on hardware components or high-level energy concepts, but there are limited… Continue reading “New Free Course Announcement: Introduction to Software for Battery Systems”
Level Up Your Energy Storage Knowledge with the Energy Storage PRO Badge The U.S. energy storage market set a new record in 2024 with 12.3 gigawatts of installations across all segments – a massive 33% increase year-over-year. This record-breaking year is just the beginning. Industry projections show 15 GW of storage expected… Continue reading “Level Up Your Energy Storage Knowledge with the Energy Storage PRO Badge”
Electricians – HeatSpring and JADE Learning have your CEUs Covered Starting this week, electricians can get their CEUs on HeatSpring through a new partnership with JADE Learning. JADE is the leader in state-approved courses to renew your electrical license, so we worked out a deal to offer them on HeatSpring.… Continue reading “Electricians – HeatSpring and JADE Learning have your CEUs Covered”
Announcing HeatSpring PRO: Career Insurance for Solar Professionals To HeatSpring’s community of 100,000+ solar professionals, this is for you. The solar industry just changed. We created HeatSpring PRO so you can start offering energy storage, solar service contracts, energy audits, heat pumps, and consultative sales on more creative… Continue reading “Announcing HeatSpring PRO: Career Insurance for Solar Professionals”
Inside Substation Transformers Electric power substations serve as the critical connection points that keep our entire power system functioning – linking generation to transmission, connecting different voltage levels from 69 kV all the way up to 765 kV, and providing power to major… Continue reading “Inside Substation Transformers”
The Ultimate Guide to Getting Your HAZWOPER Training Working with hazardous materials requires specialized knowledge and skills to ensure safety on the job and for the surrounding environment. If you work on jobsites where hazardous materials may be present, HAZWOPER training is likely required for your position. Let’s… Continue reading “The Ultimate Guide to Getting Your HAZWOPER Training”
Let’s Grow Your Electrical Business How are you developing the people in your electrical contracting business? Are you hiring people? Training them? What’s working? What feels hard? A trained, competent electrician never runs out of work. Electricians have cool jobs, make good money, are valued… Continue reading “Let’s Grow Your Electrical Business”
Understanding the Organizations Working in Transmission Interconnecting solar and storage projects at the transmission level is far more complex than interconnection at a smaller scale, and the challenge is growing. According to the Department of Energy’s 2024 Transmission Interconnection Roadmap, while the early 2000s saw around… Continue reading “Understanding the Organizations Working in Transmission”
New Course: 3-Hour Energy Storage Building and Fire Codes with Sean White and Bill Brooks Navigate the complex world of energy storage codes with industry veterans Bill Brooks and Sean White in the new 3-Hour Energy Storage Building and Fire Codes course. This engaging class cuts through the complexity of the 2024 International Code Council… Continue reading “New Course: 3-Hour Energy Storage Building and Fire Codes with Sean White and Bill Brooks”
Why Adopt NFPA 70B: A Standard for Electrical Equipment Maintenance? Maintaining electrical equipment on our solar and storage sites is about maximizing uptime while keeping maintenance costs down, ultimately optimizing the entire lifecycle of our projects. A well-structured Electrical Maintenance Program (EMP) based on NFPA 70B offers a systematic approach… Continue reading “Why Adopt NFPA 70B: A Standard for Electrical Equipment Maintenance?”
A Look at a Utility-Scale Solar Site Plan Understanding how to analyze and plan utility-scale solar sites has become increasingly critical, with over 195 GWdc of utility-scale solar projected to be added to the U.S. power grid between 2024-2029 (Source: SEIA Solar Market Insight Report Q4 2024). In… Continue reading “A Look at a Utility-Scale Solar Site Plan”
New Course Announcement: NFPA 70B: A New Standard for Electrical Equipment Maintenance If you work with solar PV or energy storage assets, you’ve probably considered these questions: How do we keep everything running smoothly while managing maintenance costs? When should we perform maintenance? What exactly needs to be checked? How do we… Continue reading “New Course Announcement: NFPA 70B: A New Standard for Electrical Equipment Maintenance”
Utility-Scale Solar PPA Price Trends - Berkeley Lab Report Analysis Part 3 Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) prices and Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) serve as critical indicators of utility-scale solar’s market progression. Drawing from Berkeley Lab’s “Utility-Scale Solar, 2024 Edition” report, HeatSpring instructor Tim Taylor explores the relationship between these metrics, examining… Continue reading “Utility-Scale Solar PPA Price Trends - Berkeley Lab Report Analysis Part 3”
Announcing Comprehensive Utility-Scale Solar Engineering Training The utility-scale solar sector is booming – solar now represents 64% of all new electricity-generating capacity in the US, with the utility-scale segment installing a record 6.6 GWdc in Q3 2024 alone, up 44% from the previous year (Source: SEIA… Continue reading “Announcing Comprehensive Utility-Scale Solar Engineering Training”
Utility-Scale Solar CapEx Trends – Berkeley Lab Report Analysis Part 2 As utility-scale solar reshapes the energy landscape, understanding its evolving costs remains crucial for industry decision-makers. HeatSpring instructor Tim Taylor examines Berkeley Lab’s latest “Utility-Scale Solar, 2024 Edition” report, uncovering notable trends in installed CapEx – including some findings that… Continue reading “Utility-Scale Solar CapEx Trends – Berkeley Lab Report Analysis Part 2”
The Texas Battery Boom: A Look at the Growth of BESS and How to Get Involved The energy landscape of Texas is changing rapidly. While still a major oil producer, the state is seeing a surge in renewable energy, especially wind and solar. This shift brings challenges, primarily the intermittent nature of these resources. This Financial… Continue reading “The Texas Battery Boom: A Look at the Growth of BESS and How to Get Involved”
1 NABCEP CEU – New Free Course: Navigating Transmission Interconnection Queues The renewable energy and utility sectors are transforming rapidly, with unprecedented amounts of new generation seeking to interconnect to the grid. However, interconnection queues have become one of the most significant bottlenecks in renewable project development. To help industry professionals… Continue reading “1 NABCEP CEU – New Free Course: Navigating Transmission Interconnection Queues”
Breaking Down Berkeley Lab’s Annual Utility-Scale Solar Report – Part 1 Berkeley Lab’s annual Utility-Scale Solar Report has become one of the industry’s go-to resources for tracking the evolution of large-scale solar (and storage) deployment across the United States. The 2024 Edition analyzes ground-mounted PV projects above 5 MW ac, offering… Continue reading “Breaking Down Berkeley Lab’s Annual Utility-Scale Solar Report – Part 1”
Inside AC Block Architecture: A Technical Walkthrough of Utility-Scale BESS Design The rapid deployment of utility-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS) demands a comprehensive understanding of system architecture, electrical engineering principles, and operational considerations. In this excerpt from the Foundations of BESS course, industry expert Drew Lebowitz examines the critical design… Continue reading “Inside AC Block Architecture: A Technical Walkthrough of Utility-Scale BESS Design”