SEI’s Solar in Schools achieves new milestone: First successful 10 kW high school install in Paonia

Nine Paonia High School students who are participating in Solar Energy International’s high school solar course had the opportunity to gain hands-on experience installing a solar system for their school this February. They worked during their class period for a week alongside Empowered Energy Systems LLC, who donated their time to the project, to install a 10kW ground mount solar system. The students learned about every step of the installation process from excavation and pouring concrete to setting the railing and placing the solar panels. Now they can leverage the skills gained from this experience to pursue a career, or continuing education, in the solar industry or other technical trades.

One of the participating students, Harley Ewert 2019, shared the value of his experience,

“Working on solar installation isn’t the typical education you think of having in high school, but it exemplified how important learning first hand can be. It is amazing how quickly a term or item can be remembered when it is tied back to a physical experience rather than a definition on a computer screen.”

The system will output approximately 16,000 kWh/year of solar electricity and save the school approximately $1,500/year. This year students learned technical skills during the installation, and over subsequent years students will have the opportunity to collect a variety of data from the system to accompany physics, math, or science curriculum in the school. Not only is this 10kW solar system offsetting some energy costs for the school, but it serves as an educational resource for years to come.

Solar Energy International organized the donations and installation of the solar system. The Trina Solar solar panels and Sunny Boy inverters for the system were donated in collaboration with the Solar Foundation. While the funds for the rest of the system were local donations from community members, businesses, and utilities including DMEA, Basin Electric. Empowered Energy Systems LLC donated their time to install the ground mount and involve the students in a safe manner, and the AC electrical work was donated by Aubrey Harris from Electrical Service and Repair LLC.

Beata Ramza, Solar Energy International AmeriCorps VISTA, reflects on the experience, “This project was a culmination of the community coming together to donate time, skills, and resources to provide an educational opportunity to Paonia High School students. It’s truly inspiring to see what we can do when we work together.” From start to finish, the installation of the Paonia High School solar PV system was a local effort that will benefit the community for years to come.

The picture below shows the Paonia PV 101 students and their instructor Mandy Cotten alongside Jim Heneghan from DMEA, Pete from Solar Energy International, Kristen, Joey, JJ, and Joseph from Empowered Energy Systems LLC, and Aubrey Harris from Electric Services and Repair LLC, in front of one row of solar panels from the Paonia High School 10kW solar system.

Original press release by Beata Ramza.

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Colorado Solar Career Expo results are in, participation doubles from last year!

Solar Energy International (SEI) would like to extend a HUGE thank you to everyone who made the 2018 Colorado Solar Career Expo possible. We are proud to announce that this year’s Expo had double the participation from industry employers compared to last year, over 24 came out to network with industry job seekers!

The Expo was brought to you in partnership with GRID Alternatives and the Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association (COSEIA), as a part of the Solar Ready Colorado initiative. Solar Ready Colorado is a statewide effort through Solar Energy International and industry partners to expand the activities of outreach, recruiting, and training to the rapidly growing Colorado solar industry and jobs market.

Through industry partnerships and support from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, the program provides a dedicated outreach and recruitment effort as well as technical training through SEI’s long running, non-profit 501(c)(3) technical training program to those interested in entering the Colorado solar industry.

The Expo, which was co-located with COSEIA’s 2018 Solar Power Mountain West Conference,  also attracted over 115 Colorado-based job seekers who had the opportunity to network with employers such as Namaste Solar, Sunrun, RES Group, Empire Solar Group, juwi Inc., Vivint Solar, the Sierra Club, and many more.

The Expo followed a Solar Jobs Panel led by SEI Director of Marketing and Communications Christopher Turek, with panelists from Sunsense Solar, Empowered Energy Systems, and SEI. Attendees were able to hear about the most sought-after skills employers are looking for in the industry today.

Want to kickstart your career in solar before next year’s Expo? Start your solar training today with SEI! Our one-stop-shop class for your introduction into everything solar PVOL101: Solar Electric Design and Installation, starts April 9!

SEI Solar Ready Colorado Solar Career Expo

Thank you again to the Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association (COSEIA) and GRID Alternatives for partnering with SEI and making the 2018 Colorado Solar Career Expo an amazing event last week. Dozens of employers and hundreds of people from all over the state gathered at the conference to help push the industry forward during this amazing career networking event. We are getting so many calls and emails from people interested in jump starting their career in the Colorado solar industry after the amazing event last week. If you couldn't make it – no worries! Check out www.SolarReadyColorado.org for more information on our training schedule – career counseling – and employer connections!

Posted by Solar Energy International (SEI) on Tuesday, March 20, 2018

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SEI prepares students to empower developing countries with renewable energy applications in updated RDOL101

Whether you are a renewable energy professional with a vision of improving lives through clean energy in developing countries, or a Peace Corps volunteer about to embark upon international field work, Solar Energy International (SEI)’s RDOL101: Appropriate Technology for the Developing World is a great place to begin.

This course takes a look at appropriate technologies (practical solutions that are both affordable and accessible) to address many of the United Nations’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals to transform our world.  Rather than focusing on one technology, the course provides an overview of options so that you, the project developer or field worker, can work with a community to brainstorm solutions to meet their specific needs. Included are clean technologies to address water, sanitation and hygiene, food processing and cooking, lighting and rural electrification, biomass, and shelter.

New to the course are several lessons on successful project development and implementation, all the way through monitoring and evaluation to assess a project’s impact on the local community. Highlighted is the critical importance of the participatory process in technology transfer projects, with lessons learned from both successful and unsuccessful real-world endeavors. The course culminates with a final assignment where students must apply what they’ve learned and design a community project.

Laura Walters, SEI curriculum developer who has also worked with several international development organizations including USAid, We Care Solar and Remote Energy said, “I love how this course makes you really think about the simplest way to solve a problem. The course is both broad and comprehensive- not only do we examine technology solutions but we also discuss how to implement a project successfully, which in reality, can be more important than the technology itself!”

The next online session begins April 9th, sign up today!

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Solar Energy International honored with Solar Energy and Storage Award

SEI was recognized by the Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association at 2018 Solar Power Mountain West

Aurora, CO.- On Monday, March 12 Solar Energy International (SEI) was recognized by the Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association (COSEIA) at 2018 Solar Power Mountain West’s Solar and Energy and Storage Awards in the category for projects sized 100 kW- 500 kW.

The awards recognized “the success stories of the Colorado industry.” And focused on “the people, processes, products and the innovation that drive the industry forward to achieve success in a competitive market,” according to COSEIA.

SEI was honored for their efforts in developing the solar market in their rural home base in Western Colorado, Delta County. A three-year cumulative effort led by SEI’s team of AmeriCorps VISTAs (Volunteers in Service to America) has been successful in garnering 400 kW of installed solar in the region, amounting to $1.5 million invested locally in solar energy.

“We are so thankful to COSEIA for highlighting our rural community’s solar market in Delta County,” Mary Marshall, former VISTA and program coordinator for SEI’s Solarize Delta County Farms program, and current Solar Forward program manager, said. “It is imperative to elevate success stories like those of Delta County that have the potential to inspire a solar movement throughout rural America.”

Marshall added, “This award is shared by not only SEI VISTAs, but our amazing partners in Delta County who made all of our outreach programs possible, such as our partnered installers, Empowered Energy Systems, who were also nominated for an award, and so many more supportive community members who encouraged the growth of solar and Solarize.”

Delta County was also recognized for taking positive strides to encourage a thriving solar market in the fall of 2017 with a bronze SolSmart Designation through a program by the Solar Foundation, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Energy Technology Office.

SEI’s efforts in Delta County continue today on a broader scale through the new Solar Forward program, where communities throughout Colorado are encouraged to apply for SEI’s technical assistance in implementing their own solar outreach efforts. VISTA efforts continue as well with an innovative “Solar in Schools” vocational training program with SEI curriculum for high school students.

At the awards, Kathy Swartz, SEI executive director, was also nominated for a Lifetime Achievement award by COSEIA.  The honor went to SEI alum Blake Jones who went on to start Namaste Solar.  Congratulations to Blake for his lifelong work in pushing the Colorado solar industry forward!

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