Welcome To Intersolar. Good morning San Francisco! Now that I am a local, I’ll be at the show all week mostly in and around the Quick Mount lounge on level 3. Come to say hello!
The Solar Foundation Releases Its Solar Workforce Development Toolkit. We can all agree that the solar industry is one of the fastest-growing industries in the United States, right? Heck, The Solar Foundation tells us so every year with its National Solar Jobs Census (well, except for this year, because tariffs, but for the past decade or so it’s been on a huge growth trajectory – and we believe will shortly be again). But how can you find workers for this specialized industry and bring them into this well-paying career? Well, the trick is workforce development, and now The Solar Foundation has released a 94-page Solar Workforce Development Toolkit designed to help solar companies develop their workforces with a series proved strategies that every business can implement in their day-to-day business practices. Here is the post
Breaking Down The Arizona Breakdown. Can anyone understand what is going on in Arizona? How can a regulatory employee have a spouse be working for a regulated entity? The whole thing goes beyond a family trying to make a living, especially if it is hidden from the public’s knowledge.
Direct Energy Gets Total Capital. The total has made a $1.4billion (euro) investment to acquire 73% of Direct Energie. This is an additive investment to the SunPower investment made many years ago. Direct owns the solar developer Neoen as well as some traditional power generation. Note that this is different than Direct Energy, which is owned by Centrica.
Presented by Sunrun. Sunrun is the largest residential solar, storage and energy services company in the United States with a mission to create a planet run by the sun. Since establishing the solar as a service model in 2007, Sunrun continues to lead the industry in providing clean energy to homeowners with little to no upfront cost and at savings to traditional electricity. Sunrun is excited to expand its solar offerings to Illinois residents.

Have a great day!

News

 

Have a great day!
Yann

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

We can all agree that the solar industry is one of the fastest-growing industries in the United States, right? Heck, The Solar Foundation tells us so every year with its National Solar Jobs Census (well, except for this year, because tariffs, but for the past decade or so it's been on a huge growth trajectory - and we believe will shortly be again). But how can you find workers for this specialized industry and bring them into this well-paying career? Well, the trick is workforce development, and now The Solar Foundation has released a 94-page Solar Workforce Development Toolkit designed to help solar companies develop their workforces with a series a proven strategies that every business can implement in their day-to-day business practices. According to the Foundation, the document is intended to start conversations among employers, with engagement from all stakeholders.The implementation guide and action plan promotecollaborative, regional and adaptive strategies as markets evolve and solar continues to become a mainstream part of the American energy sector. In the toolkit, solar employers will discover the tools they need to establish the kinds of community partnerships necessary to build a diverse talent pipeline. It shows solar employers how to turn the industry from just a "job" into a career, outlining ways to integrate solar into the public workforce development system and provides strategies to overcome real or perceived challenges. Finally, it will show employers hot to implement work-based learning models to invest in the skillsets of current and future workers. Based on two years of Solar Training Network research that included talking to employers, trainers, industry associations and community organizations in diverse solar markets, it's expected to giver solar employers the tools and skills they need to meet the high demand for qualified employees and build a skilled and diverse solar workforce. The release comes approximately one year after The Solar Foundation released its first-ever diversity study, which found the industry was doing a poor job of recruiting from non-traditional solar audiences. The toolkit is the first concrete proposal to improve that diversity and widen solar's appeal as a future profession.

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

My Intersolar North America sojourn started yesterday, standing in the 90-degree heat looking at a new testing facility for bifacial solar modules. Run by Soltec but informed by input from some of the industry's leading manufacturers and National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), The Bifacial Tracker Evaluation Center (BiTEC) will perform rigorous assessment of installation and control parameter influences on bifacial tracker performance compared to other PV applications. One of the key challenges holding back the widespread use of bifacial modules is a lack of real-world data on how they perform in the field, according to the NREL researcher on hand to explain the BiTEC test site yesterday. What the new evaluation center is designed to do is give researchers the real-world insights into bifacial modules electricity production, which will allow more information to flow on how they compare with traditional modules. And, as with other solar innovations, the more information we have, the more innovation can come. So congratulations to Soltec, JinkoSolar, REC Solar, Black and Veatch and the rest of the partners who had a part in putting together this innovative center. I look forward to seeing what data comes out of it and how it moves the industry forward. This is the kind of information that is rife at shows like Intersolar North America, and it's the kind of information I plan on bringing you over the next three days. Given the informative sessions and the new technology on the show floor, there is no end of information and news that I will be able to bring you. While I could give you an outline of exactly what I'll be writing about, I'd prefer to have it unfold for you as it will for me - it will be as if you're here attending the show with me. Personally, I can't wait to see what Intersolar North America has in store for us all - I hope you're ready to take the journey with me.

Soltage, a nationwide renewable-energy provider, today announced the completion of three solar projects for the Grossmont Union High School District, totaling 3.2 MW. The three systems together will produce nearly 5 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy per year. These projects were developed utilizing a combination of car-port and ground mounted solar arrays and worked within the dense construction footprint of Southern California to maximize the size of the solar arrays which serve the Granite Hills High School, Steele Canyon High School and the Helix Charter High School. Each of the solar arrays provides enough electricity to offset 95% of each school’s energy needs on an annual basis. “Soltage prides itself on meeting the needs of our education sector customers. We look to implement solar projects designed so that our educational clients can save significant capital on their power costs, and focus those dollars back on their primary job of educating the next generation,” said Jesse Grossman, Soltage CEO. “The Grossmont Union High School District has always looked to both be fiscally responsible while at the same time environmentally conscious,” said Dr. Tim Glover, the Superintendent for the Grossmont Union High School. “Solar is our way forward to the future,” said Lindsey Danner, Aquatics/Energy Manager for Grossmont Union High School District. “Not only is the executive team on board with these innovations, but our students are, too.” These solar systems, which are now operational, are projected to save the school district over $20 million in electricity costs over the 25 years of the PPA. Combined, the power produced by these solar systems removes the equivalent CO2 levels of more than 4 million pounds of coal burned or 418,711 gallons of gasoline. The projects were funded by Soltage as part of a recent investment into their capital vehicle raised with Basalt Infrastructure. Construction was performed on these solar projects by Baker Electric.

Soltage, a nationwide renewable-energy provider, today announced the completion of three solar projects for the Grossmont Union High School District, totaling 3.2 MW. The three systems together will produce nearly 5 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy per year. These projects were developed utilizing a combination of car-port and ground mounted solar arrays and worked within the dense construction footprint of Southern California to maximize the size of the solar arrays which serve the Granite Hills High School, Steele Canyon High School and the Helix Charter High School. Each of the solar arrays provides enough electricity to offset 95% of each school’s energy needs on an annual basis. “Soltage prides itself on meeting the needs of our education sector customers. We look to implement solar projects designed so that our educational clients can save significant capital on their power costs, and focus those dollars back on their primary job of educating the next generation,” said Jesse Grossman, Soltage CEO. “The Grossmont Union High School District has always looked to both be fiscally responsible while at the same time environmentally conscious,” said Dr. Tim Glover, the Superintendent for the Grossmont Union High School. “Solar is our way forward to the future,” said Lindsey Danner, Aquatics/Energy Manager for Grossmont Union High School District. “Not only is the executive team on board with these innovations, but our students are, too.” These solar systems, which are now operational, are projected to save the school district over $20 million in electricity costs over the 25 years of the PPA. Combined, the power produced by these solar systems removes the equivalent CO2 levels of more than 4 million pounds of coal burned or 418,711 gallons of gasoline. The projects were funded by Soltage as part of a recent investment into their capital vehicle raised with Basalt Infrastructure. Construction was performed on these solar projects by Baker Electric.