Solar Energy International (SEI) Announces New Board Officers

Solar Energy International (SEI) Announces New Board Officers

Solar Energy International is pleased to announce Paul Bony as the new Board President. Paul has a diversified background in marketing and delivering energy efficiency and renewable energy products and services at the utility, manufacturer, distributor, dealer and consumer level and presently works for The Electric Gas Industry Association as their Director of Renewables and Contractor Development.  “I am excited to be following in the footsteps of others who have helped steer this great organization and its incredible staff and instructors to its position of leadership in solar training.  SEI has accomplished great things since its humble beginnings 26 years ago.  With the help of our team, our alumni and our friends we are on course to achieve even more as we play our part to move to a world powered by renewable energy.”  

Ken Gardner was elected as Vice President of the Board. Ken is a long-time PV, microhydro and solar water pumping instructor and is the Founder and CEO of Gardner Energy Services in Utah.  “I have thoroughly enjoyed teaching with SEI for the past eight years. Our goal is to make sure consumers and businesses get the quality they need when installing renewable energy systems. Being on the board allows me to make sure that happens and to make sure that people are treated fairly and learn what is needed to properly serve our customers.”

SEI is deeply grateful to Ed Marston for his seven years of service, including five years as President. With Ed’s leadership, SEI emerged even stronger than ever from a difficult financial situation by consolidating our operations, restructuring the organization, implementing a strategic plan that focused on SEI’s strengths, and expanding its campus in Paonia, Colorado, as well as expanding into Latin America and the Middle East. “I am truly grateful to have had Ed as our Board President, a mentor, a critic, a visionary, a doer during these past five years. Ed has done a remarkable job of helping SEI think bigger so that we truly can have a world powered by renewable energy,” stated Executive Director Kathy Swartz

Many of SEI’s Paonia students had the opportunity to hear Ed during morning introductions on their first day of class. Each week Ed gave a different opening by weaving together Paonia’s local coal-mining, agricultural and marijuana economies,to Thomas Edison, Topsy the elephant and Tesla, to each person’s role in the energy revolution. These often ended in a round of applause (and once a standing ovation).

“I watched Ed build a Board of Directors that will most capably guide SEI along the exciting path that lies ahead.  He sees much further into the future than most of us.  We will miss his vision,” stated Board Secretary/Treasurer Sarah G. Bishop.

Though Ed left SEI and the other boards he served on, it’s all part of his plan. You may see him out doing wind sprints on the trails around Paonia, influencing local politics in the ways that only Ed can, or working to bring more businesses to town.

 

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To Utility and Beyond

Susannah Pedigo came to Solar Energy International (SEI) with more than 20 years of management experience in the renewable energy sector. Her resume reads a lot like a recent history of the solar industry as she’s navigated the changes of the emerging market. Each role she took was newly designed to keep up with the changing demands of a growing industry. The unifying role of each job was a strong ability to facilitate communication between the broad set of solar stakeholders; governments and research centers, utilities and residential customers, technical staff and corporate developers. Throughout her career, she’s demonstrated a remarkable skill to bring the requisite technical knowledge of the solar industry, combined with business management experience to meet the needs of the ultimate end user.

Currently the Director of Origination and Business Development at Lendlease, Susannah manages business development and partnership efforts with utilities and other solar stakeholders with the goal of growing the utility-scale and wholesale-distributed generation pipeline in the US. Her job builds upon all the knowledge she’s built partnering with utilities, public organizations  and private business while continually navigating about the technical advancements and legislative terrain of the solar industry. In pursuit of that technical training and for the joy that comes from working on the systems that she deals with daily, Susannah came to SEI for a hands-on solar training course.

Susannah attended SEI’s PV201L: Solar Electric Lab Week (Grid-Direct). During this week-long, hands-on solar training students rotate through multiple PV systems where they fully install and commission systems consisting of modules, inverters, and racking components from a wide range of manufacturers. Of her SEI experience she said. “the curriculum is a good balance of theory and practical applications which I’d highly recommend.”  During her week at SEI, Susannah was able to share her experience with her fellow students all at different points in their careers. Speaking of her time working with Xcel Energy, gave recommendations for interfacing with utilities to the future solar installers in the class.

She reiterated the imperative of solar training for anyone in the industry, saying, “though you may be be working in sales or business development, you will work with technical people everyday. The industry is highly competitive and you’re constantly looking for ways to add value and be cost effective. I need technical knowledge to interact with our technical staff to get the best value and cost effective solution for our clients. This is true for a rooftop system or utility scale solar plant.”

While Susannah’s spent a large part of her career in solar, she didn’t begin there.She began with a degree in Landscape Architecture and a passion for sustainability. She spent ten years working in City Planning on the Front Rage of Colorado before entering the solar industry. Susannah’s first position in solar was at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) as the Senior Communication Manager where she built relationships with the Department of Energy to significantly grow NREL’s Solar Research Program. During this time, she also earned an MBA from the University of Denver.

This experience led her to Xcel Energy, the fifth largest investor-owned utility in the United States. While at Xcel Energy, she oversaw the management of the company’s customer-facing renewable energy products such as Solar*Rewards (250+ MW rooftop solar). She was also a key participant in the legislative, rulemaking and subsequent program development efforts for community solar initiatives in Colorado and Minnesota. Her career illustrates what is possible in the rapidly growing solar industry, whether you bring business acumen, legislative knowledge or technical ability. The industry is broad and, with proper training, there’s a place for everyone.

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Solarize Delta County Farms Celebrates First Install of the Program!

The Solarize Delta County Farms program is officially in full-swing! Empowered Energy Systems, the program’s partner solar installation company, got to work on Wednesday, May 24 installing the first system of the program, which launched April 18 and will continue through July 18.

Solarize Delta County Farms is a community-powered outreach program presented by Solar Energy International aimed at educating home, farm and business-owners on how to go solar. The program offers a tiered rebate system, so if more community members go solar, there will be a higher discount on equipment costs for systems. The program also offers a streamlined process to go solar including a no-cost, no-commitment on-site property assessment from the installers.  

The first installation of the program was a 4.6 kW roof-mounted system for Solarize program participant, Daniel Larcker.

“It looks great,” he said. “It’s always exciting to get closer to net-zero consumption.”  Larcker said he initially became interested in solar during the program last year. “The installers have been really helpful and quick,” he added.

Empowered Energy Systems installer, Joseph James Riggs, commented on his experience working with the Solarize program. “The Solarize program has been one of the best economic stimulants that I’ve seen in this valley,” he said.

Solarize Delta County Farms is the third and final round of Solarize, community members can register to participate online until July 18, or register at one of Solarize’s many upcoming educational events. The Solarize Team will be hosting a documentary viewing at the Paradise Theater in Paonia on May 12, and a solar financing workshop in Paonia on June 21.

Interested community members can view the full calendar, or sign up for the program at https://www.solarenergy.org/solarize-delta-county-farms/. The Solarize Team can be contacted with any questions at 970-527-7657 x 213 or at solarize@solarenergy. org.

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Amicus Solar Cooperative and Solar Energy International (SEI) Team Up to Provide Highly Technical Solar Training for Solar Professionals

Amicus Solar Cooperative and SEI have formed a solar training program to offer a full range technical trainings for Amicus Solar Cooperative’s member company employees. The collaboration brings SEI’s technical training program and decades of experience as a leading solar training school to Amicus‘s 40 member-owners located across 28 states, Puerto Rico and Canada.

 Amicus members will receive discounted tuition through this partnership for new hires as well as seasoned solar professionals currently working in the industry who want to take their technical knowledge to the next level through continuing education opportunities.

SEI’s non-profit mission of providing industry-leading technical training and expertise in renewable energy to empower people, communities, and businesses worldwide aligns with Amicus’s goal to support smaller, regional solar companies by leveraging national scale and collective brainpower. Together, we will build a world powered by renewable energy.

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Outback Power Visits SEI Campus

On the road for solar! Last week, Outback Power’s Energy Express Tour  made a stop at Solar Energy International (SEI). SEI students got to tour the Energy Express van and learn from Outback experts about their latest residential and commercial solar applications. The stop was a part of OutBack Power’s two-month tour of more than 20 cities to share their latest renewable energy technology with electrical installers and distributors.

Students from SEI’s PV301L: Solar Electric Lab Week (Battery Based) visited with Outback representatives and participated Outback Product demonstrations. Industry partnerships like this are one way that SEI supports our graduates to succeed in the solar industry and augments their solar training with real world experience.

Thank to Outback Power for including SEI on their tour!

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SEI Instructors Reach New Heights in Solar

Jay Pozner and Lena Wilensky are SEI Instructors and solar extraordinaires with over 25 years of combined experience in the industry. For them, solar is a family affair. Jay, Lena and their daughter are based out of Almont, (on the Western Slope of Colorado) where they own and operate Nunatak Alternative Energy Solutions. Their business specializes in designing, installing, and maintaining power systems that will last in the harsh environments encountered at 9,000 ft in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. The special conditions of high altitude and mountainous terrain puts their solar knowledge to test in order to meet the needs of their clients, whether they’re designing a PV system for a small hunting cabin or off-setting a grid-tied house or commercial building. Luckily, as SEI alums and NABCEP Certified PV Installation Professionals, they’ve got the technical know-how to creatively problem solving to design and install systems built to last in any environment.

Both Jay and Lena had different paths into the solar industry. Lena was inspired to take leave from her high school teaching career to explore the world of renewable energy. She began her renewable energy career with Solar Energy International (SEI) by taking classes, then helping construct their technical training facility and eventually teaching PV classes around the country and online. She brings her experience as an installer and electrician to the SEI classes she leads and also shares her copious knowledge as a contributor to Home Power Magazine and by doing design work for SEI Engineering on PV systems ranging from 3kw to 3MW. Her broad experience in the solar industry and as a business owner is a huge asset to the classes she teaches.

Meanwhile Jay, like all good mountain dwellers, has experience in many sectors, from directing a non-profit to over 10 years of guiding and outdoor leadership education, to construction and the renewable energy world. He has worked in the renewable energy sector for the past ten years with almost as much variety; working on PV, solar thermal, wind, and remote power systems in extreme environments. With SEI, Jay has led solar training workshops all over North America on grid-connected and battery-based systems, instilling his passion for renewable energy into his students.

Lena says of experience as an SEI Instructor, “I love that I can do work that I believe in, and help others follow their passions as well. The energy and motivation of students and staff at SEI are beyond compare. Especially in an age where corporate culture, monopolies, and greed seem to be the main drivers for ‘success’, the community of folks that SEI brings together is a treasure to hold onto. Passing along knowledge and experience, and learning from each other is the culture at SEI, and in my opinion that is a much better definition of success! Working together, we will bring about positive changes in the energy industry for a brighter future.”

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