Why Just Adding Batteries Won’t Solve Your Interconnection Problems When a solar project gets denied interconnection approval due to grid constraints, the natural impulse is to find a workaround. Can’t export to the grid? Can’t you just add batteries and keep everything on-site? If you’re not sending power back… Continue reading “Why Just Adding Batteries Won’t Solve Your Interconnection Problems “
How Tax Credit Deadlines Are Overwhelming Utility Interconnection Queues The Inflation Reduction Act’s tax credits were designed to accelerate clean energy deployment. With tax credits prematurely winding down, solar professionals are having to juggle multiple critical timelines with their projects. That’s because the customer tax credit eligibility doesn’t just… Continue reading “How Tax Credit Deadlines Are Overwhelming Utility Interconnection Queues”
How Solar Companies Can Get Ahead of Interconnection Challenges Across the country, many solar companies are following the same pattern. They build their interconnection processes around current conditions, assuming approvals will keep flowing seamlessly. The challenges start when saturation hits their local circuits and delays start to become more… Continue reading “How Solar Companies Can Get Ahead of Interconnection Challenges”
Common Misconceptions About Interconnection When interconnection problems arise, it’s easy to assume the utility is the villain by actively blocking clean energy projects or acting in bad faith. In some instances, that can be true. It turns out the reality is far more complex… Continue reading “Common Misconceptions About Interconnection”
Why Solar Professionals Can’t Afford to Ignore Interconnection Anymore The assumption that solar projects submitted to utilities would automatically be approved used to be standard operating procedure in jurisdictions with established interconnection policies. Unfortunately, those days are over in many places. As solar deployment has accelerated, interconnection delays and… Continue reading “Why Solar Professionals Can’t Afford to Ignore Interconnection Anymore”
Why DC-Coupled Solar Plus Storage Is Finally Ready to Take Off For years, DC-coupling was the way off-grid systems worked. Then AC-coupling took over. Now, interconnection bottlenecks and new tax incentives are bringing DC-coupling back – this time at commercial scale. HeatSpring instructor Wes Kennedy walks through the economics and engineering:… Continue reading “Why DC-Coupled Solar Plus Storage Is Finally Ready to Take Off”
How the Shift From EVs to Data Centers Is Reshaping the Battery Market The battery market is experiencing a dramatic shift – and it’s creating opportunities for energy storage professionals. HeatSpring instructor Wes Kennedy breaks down the technology trends reshaping the industry: how EV manufacturing overcapacity is driving battery prices down, why Ford… Continue reading “How the Shift From EVs to Data Centers Is Reshaping the Battery Market”
Energy Storage in 2026: Policy Changes, Market Reality, and Long-Term Outlook If you’re wondering how 2025 policy changes are affecting energy storage demand, this conversation is for you. Wes Kennedy, instructor of Comprehensive Solar Plus Storage, walks through the key dynamics shaping the market: why storage maintained federal incentives while solar… Continue reading “Energy Storage in 2026: Policy Changes, Market Reality, and Long-Term Outlook”
How Do Battery Systems Maintain Grid Frequency? When a heat wave hits and entire cities crank up their air conditioning simultaneously, we rarely think about what keeps our electrical grid humming at exactly the right frequency. But grid frequency is critical – too high or too low,… Continue reading “How Do Battery Systems Maintain Grid Frequency?”
How Does Energy Bidding Work for Battery Systems in Power Markets? Understanding how battery systems participate in power markets can seem complex at first, but the fundamentals are surprisingly straightforward. The basics of energy bidding are essential knowledge for anyone working in the utility-scale energy storage space – from entrepreneurs and… Continue reading “How Does Energy Bidding Work for Battery Systems in Power Markets?”
Why Does EV Charger Energization Efficiency Matter & What Challenges Can Local Government Address? The U.S. will need nearly 28 million charging ports by 2030 to meet projected EV adoption – a massive expansion from today’s charging network. Local governments play a critical role in ensuring this infrastructure can be deployed quickly and efficiently.… Continue reading “ Why Does EV Charger Energization Efficiency Matter & What Challenges Can Local Government Address?”
A Look at Two Types of Battery Installations: Front of the Meter and Behind the Meter Where you install a battery system – and which side of the electricity meter it sits on – fundamentally changes how it operates and who benefits from it. There are two primary configurations for battery installations: front of the meter… Continue reading “A Look at Two Types of Battery Installations: Front of the Meter and Behind the Meter”
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”