Paonia

Cutting Edge Technology on Display at Solar Energy International's PV Lab Facility

By Holly Loff, Solar Energy International Development Associate

Solar Energy International's students come to our solar training lab workshops not just to be trained by the best; they come to see the best products on the market - the latest and the greatest.

Likewise, SEI's instructors, besides loving to teach, come to train at SEI's Paonia PV Lab Facility because our lab is filled with the latest technology. SEI's instructors and students get to work with the newest products on the market.

Every year SEI's PV Project Coordinator, Jeff Tobe, sets to work on ...
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PV Instructors Gather in Paonia for SEI's Fifth Annual Training Event

By Kathy Swartz, Solar Energy International Renewable Energy Training Director

Last week was one of my favorite weeks of the year. Solar Energy International hosted more than 34 of our PV instructors and staff as we came together in Paonia, Colorado, for three incredible days for our Fifth Annual PV Instructor Training. Solar Energy International gathered our passionate instructors into one room to discuss technical issues and share expertise. It's hard to imagine a bigger PV brain trust gathered together - not because they had to be, but because they wanted to be.

The ...
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Solar Energy International Celebrates 20 Years of Renewable Energy Education with Style

By April E. Clark, Marketing Communications Coordinator

What a weekend! Solar Energy International celebrated 20 years of renewable energy and solar training Aug. 12-14 here in sunny Colorado. The weekend welcomed SEI friends, colleagues, alumni, and board members who traveled from Washington D.C. to Washington state, and nearly everywhere in between. Fun was had by all and the renewable energy buzz remained strong throughout the weekend's events. 

The momentus weekend began with rafting through Glenwood Canyon in Glenwood Springs. Nearly 40 alumni, staff and board ...
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Solar Energy International: Not Just a Number

By Kathy Swartz
Renewable Energy Education Program Team Leader

I love working at SEI. Plain and simple. I love my colleagues, this amazing little town of Paonia, Colorado, where our solar training PV Lab Facility is located, and of course, the people who attend our workshops.

Each Monday, I get chills as I listen to workshop participants in our hands-on trainings introduce themselves. They each have a story to tell about how they came to this point in their lives where they are taking the leap into the renewable energy world and about how they came to find Solar ...
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Micro-Hydro Training in Paonia, Colorado, Provides Hands-on Experience

By Ken Gardner, Solar Energy International Instructor

Micro-hydro power permits harnessing a source of power 24-7. Solar Energy International's Micro-Hydro Training - MH101: Micro-Hydro Design & Installation hands-on workshop May 16-20 in Paonia, Colorado, will be a combination of classroom instruction and hands-on experience along with tours to existing micro-hydro sites.

During the workshop, participants will learn seven ways to measure water flow and five ways to determine elevation difference known as "head." Participants will help ...
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Where in the world is Paonia?

By Kathy Swartz
Solar Energy International Renewable Energy Education Program Team Leader
Based at SEI's Paonia, Colorado eco-campus

So you're signed up for an SEI workshop in Western Colorado, and you're wondering what to expect when you get to the small town called Paonia. What's it like? What's there to do?

I've found that students' experience in Paonia goes something like this: You arrive on Sunday and the thought passes through your head of "Where in the heck am I and who is this SEI???" And by the end of the week, you tend to linger a little ...
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Women's solar training workshop opens up a world of possibilities for SEI alumna

         Solar Energy International is embarking on a new season of women's solar training this summer. SEI Women's PV Workshop alumna Kyra Moore was happy to share her experience at the women's class of '08:
When I first arrived in Paonia, Colo., to attend the Women's PV Design class at SEI I had no idea that two years later I would working for a competitive solar company, with a NABCEP Solar PV Installer certificate under my belt, designing everything from small residential systems to larger commercial PV farms. I entered the women's class with a friend because we were ...
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