New Free Course: Inflation Reduction Act: Energy Storage and Solar Tax Credits The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 was signed into law on August 16th, 2022, providing a historic $369 billion of clean energy and climate investments over the next 10 years. The expert team at Energy Toolbase has been diving… Continue reading “New Free Course: Inflation Reduction Act: Energy Storage and Solar Tax Credits”
145 Gigawatts of Pure Opportunity Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, we’re going to triple the solar industry by 2027. Yes, that’s right, triple. Today we are installing 20 GW of solar in the US. By 2027, we will be installing 60 GW… Continue reading “145 Gigawatts of Pure Opportunity”
eQUEST vs. OpenStudio Is eQUEST or OpenStudio better for running energy models? That was the question from a student this week. Here’s how they framed it: “I’m interested in gaining a qualification in building energy modeling, to perform my firm’s energy rating building… Continue reading “eQUEST vs. OpenStudio”
Updates to NABCEP PV Technical Sales Certification – Qualification and Recertification NABCEP has recently announced changes to the PV Technical Sales (PVTS) exam qualification and recertification requirements to align with changes in the industry and the other NABCEP professional certifications. These changes will go into effect November 1st, 2022. The current… Continue reading “Updates to NABCEP PV Technical Sales Certification – Qualification and Recertification”
Why Your Company Needs a Solar + Storage Display System and Other Ways to Get Proficient with Energy Storage Systems We asked Chris LaForge, instructor of several solar and storage courses on HeatSpring, what steps companies newer to energy storage should be taking to get up to speed and do quality work. Chris explains the value of training, why your… Continue reading “Why Your Company Needs a Solar + Storage Display System and Other Ways to Get Proficient with Energy Storage Systems”
An Easy Win: I Will Set Up a Free Employee Learning Platform for Your Team The solar industry needs more people. So every solar company leader should know about this free benefit: For $0 any solar company can use HeatSpring as a learning platform to train employees. You can request yours right now. It takes… Continue reading “An Easy Win: I Will Set Up a Free Employee Learning Platform for Your Team”
Changing Standards for the PV Industry: UL 61730 for PV Modules and UL 3741 for PV Hazard Control (Rapid Shutdown UL Listing) Codes and standards are regularly updated for the constantly evolving solar and storage industries. Sean White and Bill Brooks recently updated their advanced codes courses on HeatSpring to include information on UL 61730 and UL 3741. Here’s some information on… Continue reading “Changing Standards for the PV Industry: UL 61730 for PV Modules and UL 3741 for PV Hazard Control (Rapid Shutdown UL Listing)”
E2 Clean Jobs America 2022 Summary E2 is a national, nonpartisan group of business leaders, investors, and others who advocate for smart policies that are good for the economy and good for the environment. E2 believes that a good economy and good environment should be good… Continue reading “E2 Clean Jobs America 2022 Summary”
Key Takeaways from the National Solar Jobs Census 2021 + Updates to Solar Career Pathways Course Sharing out the latest information on solar employment statistics is a big component in HeatSpring’s free Solar Career Pathways course. When partners on the course, the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC), released their National Solar Jobs Census 2021, we jumped… Continue reading “Key Takeaways from the National Solar Jobs Census 2021 + Updates to Solar Career Pathways Course”
3 Things Your Solar Company Should Do Right Now to Capitalize on the Inflation Reduction Act Adam Gerza from Energy Toolbase joined this week’s live Solar Entrepreneurship class. Adam is incredibly knowledgeable about solar policy and we asked him to speak about the Inflation Reduction Act. What’s really changing and where are the new opportunities for… Continue reading “3 Things Your Solar Company Should Do Right Now to Capitalize on the Inflation Reduction Act”
Why Teach? Why HeatSpring? – A Chat with HeatSpring Co-Founder Brian Hayden HeatSpring is an expert-led platform for professionals in solar, cleantech, and many other forward thinking industries. Any expert can build free or paid classes on the platform at no cost and start right away. Listen in as HeatSpring Co-Founder Brian… Continue reading “Why Teach? Why HeatSpring? – A Chat with HeatSpring Co-Founder Brian Hayden”
The Most Common Problem When Troubleshooting PV + Energy Storage Systems When asked about the most common problem regarding solar + storage, HeatSpring instructor Chris LaForge came up with his answer without hesitation. Tune in to the video or the transcript below to hear Chris’s thoughts on the issue. Chris has… Continue reading “The Most Common Problem When Troubleshooting PV + Energy Storage Systems”
What the Inflation Reduction Act Could Mean for the HeatSpring Community UPDATE: The Inflation Reduction Act has passed Congress and has signed by President Biden. For many of us working in clean energy and environmental stewardship, hearing that the Inflation Reduction Act passed through the Senate filled us with hope for… Continue reading “What the Inflation Reduction Act Could Mean for the HeatSpring Community”
Building and Managing Decentralized Solar Project Teams Chris Lord has helped fund and develop hundreds of megawatts of solar projects over the past eight years, but his company is small. I asked Chris to explain how he builds and manages a decentralized group of collaborators to have… Continue reading “Building and Managing Decentralized Solar Project Teams”
Provisions Affecting Geothermal Heat Pumps in the Proposed “Inflation Reduction Act” The Geothermal Exchange Organization (GEO) is the voice of the geothermal heat pump industry in the United States. Below is their summary of the provisions affecting geothermal heat pumps in the ‘Inflation Reduction Act’ and a brief outlook on where… Continue reading “Provisions Affecting Geothermal Heat Pumps in the Proposed “Inflation Reduction Act””
Why Your Install Crews Don’t Have (M)any Women It’s no secret that women are very underrepresented in the solar industry. According to the National Solar Job Census, women made up just under 30% of solar employees in 2021, which is well below the 47% of women that make… Continue reading “Why Your Install Crews Don’t Have (M)any Women”
Managing a Commercial Solar Portfolio: How Solar Developers, EPC Contractors and O&M Teams Work Together Chris Lord helps his clients manage a portfolio of solar assets. In that role he’s also managing a network of subcontractors who don’t always have aligned interests. This is the sort of thing Chris and Keith Cronin cover in their… Continue reading “Managing a Commercial Solar Portfolio: How Solar Developers, EPC Contractors and O&M Teams Work Together”
Simulating a Power Outage to Test Battery Health Batteries that are used strictly for resiliency are oftentimes rarely discharged, as these storage applications only get used when the utility has an outage. That has a lot of implications for the storage equipment. Join HeatSpring instructor Chris LaForge as… Continue reading “Simulating a Power Outage to Test Battery Health”
Construction & Project Managers: Demand is High, Supply is Low Chris Lord helps put together and finance large solar projects. From that vantage point he’s able to see where bottlenecks are in the industry. Recently Chris was telling me how hard it is to find experienced construction and project managers… Continue reading “Construction & Project Managers: Demand is High, Supply is Low”
Resources for the Building Science Generalist Looking for some new books or opportunities to build your knowledge base in zero energy buildings? Marc Rosenbaum, instructor of How to Think About Energy in Buildings course, shares his ideas for expanding your knowledge in the field of building… Continue reading “Resources for the Building Science Generalist”