SEI Blog Does Quality Assurance in the Solar PV Industry Start with Manufacturing or the Technician?Posted by: chris on July 24, 2013 Solar PV Quality Issues in the News Quality assurance is a hot topic in the solar industry and Solar Energy International (SEI) has a vested interest in the quality of PV systems installed world-wide. Much of the media attention has been on the quality of components, specifically PV modules, coming from the manufacturing side of the industry. SEI's focus starts with the highest quality training experience for students and professionals who already are or will become the technical experts for the industry. Chris Turek, Director of Online Learning and Student Services ... Read More »
Solar Energy International (SEI) Collaborates with Roof Integrated Solar Energy™ (RISE)Posted by: chris on June 28, 2013 Learn why the roof is just as important as the PV system So, what is RISE,™ ? Roof Integrated Solar Energy™ (RISE) Inc. is a nonprofit organization that evaluates and certifies solar energy install ers for knowledge regarding critical roof system construction and maintenance practices necessary to support successful rooftop solar energy installations by administering the Certified Solar Roofing Professional (CSRP) credential. RISE is directed by a board of professional practitioners representing the solar and roof ing industries. What is a CSRP™? The Certified Solar ... Read More »
Solar Energy International (SEI) Trains with the Oglala Lakota CollegePosted by: chris on June 28, 2013 Jeff Tobe - SEI Native American Outreach Coordinator Solar Energy International, in conjunction with Salt Lake Community College and Utah Solar Energy Association, teamed up with the Oglala Lakota College’s construction program for three days of training and installation of a mobile, off grid solar system. Seventeen students and three of the college’s instructors participated in the course. At the end of the training the students had installed a fully functional solar powered mobile power system on their construction trailer. The system will be used to provide power at ... Read More »
Sandia and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) Conference on O&M for PV SystemsPosted by: chris on June 28, 2013 Rebekah Hren - SEI PV Curriculum Team Member Until about 2007 or 2008, nearly every PV system installed in the United States was a residential or commercial system, and the prevailing theory was that PV systems without batteries (grid-direct) were practically maintenance-free – just “install it and forget about it”. However, once smaller systems started to age, and larger solar farms and utility-scale systems came online, it became clear pretty quickly that “maintenance-free” was neither an accurate representation of the life-cycle costs, nor the operational requirements, of ... Read More »
Solar Energy International Expands PV program to the AmericasPosted by: matthew@solarenergy.org on June 8, 2013 For a Spanish version click here For many years, Solar Energy International (SEI) has been utilizing our Spanish PV curriculum throughout the Americas. Both the SEI PV Design & Installation Manual and Grid-tied PV curriculum are available in Spanish. Over the years, SEI has used these resources in hands-on workshops throughout the Americas as well as via the on-demand online course, FV101: Diseño E Instalación de Sistemas Eléctricos Solares. With renewable energy education for end-users, technicians, and decision makers being the cornerstone of SEI's ... Read More »
SEI Collaborates with UL to Offer Training and Certification for Licensed ElectriciansPosted by: chris on May 30, 2013 Solar Energy International (SEI) has entered into an agreement with UL (Underwriters Laboratories) to offer the UL PV Installer Certification Exam for qualified electricians at SEI's Training and Certification Testing Center in Paonia, Colorado. The UL PV Installer Certification Exam will be held immediately after SEI's PV202: Advanced PV System Design and the NEC (Grid-Direct) Workshop. Training starts August 12 -and the UL PV Installer Certification Exam will be offered beginning on August 16. Kathy Swartz, SEI's Executive Director, said, "Our work with UL and ... Read More »
SEI Celebrates Over 20 Years of MC Hammer Pants and Solar PV Curriculum DevelopmentPosted by: chris on May 30, 2013 Grab your VIP pass –Here’s a Behind the Scenes Look at SEI’s Curriculum Development Process Blog by Laura Walters - SEI PV Curriculum Team Member Want a sneak peak into the major work that goes into keeping SEI’s solar electric curriculum the best in the country (and possibly the world)?!? Here is your chance to see where some of your tuition dollars go and why SEI classes are worth every cent. Did you know that SEI’s solar electric design and installation curriculum has been evolving for over twenty years? Yeah, twenty – that goes back to the days of MC ... Read More »
SEI Surpasses 30,000 Alumni and Students - Your Stories Are Our Stories!Posted by: chris on May 30, 2013 “Your Stories are Our Stories…30,000 and Counting” By Kathy Swartz, Executive Director During our recent annual count of the number of alumni, we surpassed the 30,000th student who has taken training from Solar Energy International. As a visual reference, if you put everyone of our current and former students into Harvard's Football Stadium - it would fill to 100% capacity. (See photo above) My favorite fortune cookie fortune of all time is… “Customer service is like taking a bath; you have to keep doing it.” We take customer service quite seriously—it ... Read More »
SEI and Saudi Arabia Solar Industry Association (SASIA) Create Partnership for Professional Solar Training in the Middle EastPosted by: chris on May 30, 2013 Solar Energy International (SEI) is pleased to partner with the Saudi Arabia Solar Industry Association (SASIA) to provide professional solar PV training to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and surrounding region. This training partnership will leverage SEI's decades of technical training experience and expertise. The goal of this partnership is to establish a highly trained solar professional workforce with a focus on safety and highly efficient PV system design and installation methods throughout the region. This hybrid training model between SEI and SASIA ... Read More »
SEI Provides Native American Training at the Red Cloud Renewable Energy CenterPosted by: chris on May 20, 2013 SEI recently completed a 4-day training and installation class in collaboration with Lakota Solar Enterprise and Trees, Water & People. This 4-day training, held in late March, was hosted at the Red Cloud Renewable Energy Center in Pine Ridge, SD. The Northern Cheyenne tribe sent a bright group of young leaders from their community to this training as part a larger effort to explore sustainable economic solutions to replace fossil fuel development on their lands. In addition to this aspect, the National Wildlife Federation, who has been integral in supporting the ... Read More »
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