Thanks to SEI AmeriCorps VISTAs, Delta County becomes second smallest County in the U.S. to receive prestigious solar-friendly designation

Solar Energy International (SEI)’s AmeriCorps VISTAs helped pave the way for Delta County, Colorado to receive a Gold designation from the national SolSmart program for making it faster, easier, and more affordable for homes and businesses to go solar. The initial Bronze designation in 2017, also a VISTA-led effort, recognized Delta County for taking measurable steps to encourage solar energy growth and remove obstacles to solar development. The prestigious Gold designation recognizes further efforts and milestones, including completion of a solar project within the County using the State’s commercial property-assessed clean energy (C-PACE) financing tool and a permitting and inspection training for local municipalities held by Delta County and SEI.

SEI is located in Delta County, and SEI AmeriCorps VISTAs have been working since 2015 on economic revitalization through solar efforts, including launching Solarize programs, creating a Solar in Schools High School Program, and championing the passage of C-PACE in the County.

The designation was announced in Paonia, Colorado at the Engage Energy Conference, and in Delta at the Forum for Coal-Reliant Communities put on by the National Association of Counties (NACo) and the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO). SEI then led a tour for the forum participants at the Paonia campus, where officials and representatives from local governments were able to discuss options for encouraging economic development through solar market growth in their communities.

More than 200 cities, counties, and small towns have achieved SolSmart designation since the program launched in 2016, but Delta County’s designation is especially impressive in that it is the second smallest County in the U.S. to receive the recognition. The actions taken by Delta County, its local installers, and its municipalities will help encourage more solar business in the area, driving economic development and creating local jobs.

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Solar Energy International (SEI) attends 11th annual Southern Colorado Construction Career Days

This past month Solar Energy International (SEI) was invited to attend the 11^th annual Southern Colorado Construction Career Days in Colorado Springs.  The mission of Construction Career Days is “To provide a venue for young people to explore the variety of career opportunities available in the construction industry upon graduation from high school. To host a day of hands-on experiences, to enable them to interface with expert contractors throughout the region. We encourage volunteers from all the trades in the construction industry to be enthusiastic and provide job specific training to the young people attending the workshop.”

Student Services Advisor Kevin Sova spent the day talking to students about careers in the solar industry, the latest solar technology, training opportunities with SEI, and provided a solar water pumping and shade analysis demo.  This year’s Career Day was attended by over 600 local 11^th and 12^thgraders and was a HUGE success with perfect weather to show how solar works!

Are you interested in joining the clean energy workforce? Check out our training schedule, our online campus kicks off our next session of classes on November 6!

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Climate-related catastrophe is omnipresent, take action NOW with Solar Energy International (SEI)

On Monday the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a report that reveals the severe impact of climate change may be experienced well within the lifetime of the general world population, if dramatic policy changes don’t happen fast.

How fast? To prevent 2.7 degrees of warming, the report recommends that greenhouse pollution should be reduced by 45 percent from 2010 levels by 2030, and 100 percent by 2050.

The report reverberated across social media: politicians, scientists, environmentalists and concerned citizens alike joined in a collective cry for much-needed change, with the focus on where we’ve gone wrong. Headlines blared and red flags raised about an impending doom, and understandably, there has been much more fear-raising than presented solutions or praise for positive steps forward.

But what the media outlets have left out in lieu of sounding the alarm, is that climate-related catastrophe is already here. Much of North America experienced a record-breaking heat wave this summer, wildfires fueled by ideal conditions ravaged the U.S. West, and the death toll climbed to at least 3,000 in the wake of Hurricane Maria, which devastated Puerto Rico a year ago.

Although climate-related natural disasters are omnipresent in our reality, we should not accept this as a fact of life. Every human life on this planet is deserving of a safe environment to thrive, and the technology exists to stave off the growing threat of even more severe disaster, if we join together to make the change.

When 20,000 people remained without power 10 full months after Hurricane Maria, many residents turned to solar power for energy independence after the storm ravaged the island’s grid. Solar-powered buildings became a lifeline.

And there is still an infinite amount of potential to explore beyond existing technology, because our planet is overflowing with passionate people with groundbreaking ideas to take our existing solutions to the next level. Every solution we could possibly wish we had exists already on this earth, in the minds of heroes currently tapping into, or striving to tap into their potential. We must elevate their voices, we must create and share the tools necessary to help each other explore our biggest ideas.

That is what we strive to do every day at Solar Energy International. We believe in a world powered by renewable energy, and we believe that is achievable by empowering you. You, with the crazy-huge ideas. You, who may have left a different career path to see what the solar industry is all about. You, reading this article on the SEI website because you took initiative to learn about solar technology and spread it even further throughout your network.

This week, we have over 300 students enrolled in online classes, and 22 students on campus for our last PV201L: Solar Training- Solar Electric Lab Week (grid-direct) of the year. Students from all over the world: U.S., Nigeria, Russia, St. Vincent, Colombia, Barbados, Bahamas, Australia, and South Africa. During introductions, people shared why they came to SEI: because of the impact of hurricanes, climate change, and because they want to help their countries.

Solar has stepped up to the plate as an emerging and necessary technology amid impending and present disaster due to climate change, but so have you. Thank you for taking the initiative to grow your solar training, to improve the lives of others, and to take responsibility for the fate of our collective existence on this planet. Keep working to elevate and encourage the ideas of others, and we will, too.

Are you ready to learn more about renewable energy or to join the clean energy workforce? Check out our full training schedule, or enroll in our next session of PVOL101: Solar Training- Solar Electric Design and Installation (Grid-Direct)-Online.

Our online campus kicks off another session on November 6 and spots are filling fast. Course offerings include:

PVOL101: Solar Training- Solar Electric Design and Installation (Grid-Direct)-Online

SHOL101: Solar Thermal Training- Solar Hot Water Design and Installation- Online

PVOL202: Solar Training- Advanced PV System Design and the NEC (Grid-Direct)- Online

PVOL203: Solar Training- PV System Fundamentals (Battery-Based)-Online

PVOL206: Solar Training- Solar Business and Technical Sales -Online

PVOL303: Solar Training- Advanced PV Multimode and Microgrid Design (Battery-Based)- Online

PVOL350: Solar Training- PV Systems-Tools and Techniques for Operations and Maintenance – Online

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