SOLAR ENERGY NEWS & TECHNICAL INSIGHTS
Solar Energy International (SEI) Achieves Bronze Certification for Advancements on DEIJ Issues
Paonia, CO, September 29, 2022 — Today Solar Energy International (SEI) announced it has achieved Bronze certification through the Diversity Equity Inclusion and Justice (DEIJ) Certification Program from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). Earning this certification demonstrates SEI’s commitment to creating a more inclusive and diverse workplace and culture in the solar industry. “We are dedicated to creating an equitable workplace, inclusive learning environment, ...
Lithium Ion Battery Recycling
There has been a lot of discussion from students and instructors on SEI’s campus regarding lithium battery recycling. SEI’s Lab Manager and Instructor, Alex Jahp, was able to put together some information for our students and staff on the topic. Alex began his solar career with SEI courses in 2015 and now, as the Paonia Lab Manager, we all benefit from his continual learning and ...
Solar Energy International (SEI) Announces Strategic Reorganization and New Leadership
A new Executive Leadership Team (ELT) has been created as part of a year-long strategic planning process. Paonia, Colorado - Solar Energy International (SEI) today announced a transformative divisional and leadership reorganization, aimed to meet the workforce training demands of a fast-growing, technically challenging, and increasingly diverse solar industry. SEI’s board of directors is proud to share that this new Executive Leadership Team (ELT) has been created as part of ...
Webinar to present new financing options from Colorado’s green bank, CCEF
SEI’s Solar Forward is collaborating with the Colorado Energy Office (CEO) to present Colorado Clean Energy Fund (CCEF)’s latest financing products Paonia, CO- Colorado’s first green bank, Colorado Clean Energy Fund (CCEF) began in 2021 developing products for difficult-to-finance renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, like small commercial solar installations and for borrowers without competitive credit or access to capital. Green banks like CCEF specialize ...
Solar Forward Summer Wrap-up
In its seventh year, the Solar Forward Program is wrapping up its summer programs with many successes from community coordinators. So far this year Solar Forward has worked with four communities: San Miguel County for education and outreach in partnership with the non-profit Solar United Neighbors; Grand County as a consultant for a for-profit solar company, Active Energies Solutions; and advising two communities on implementing ...
What the “Inflation Reduction Act of 2022” Means for Solar
By now you have heard way too much about the momentous Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) being signed into law by President Biden. While this important legislation assists with health care costs and implements tax reform to address the deficit, what Solar Forward is most interested in is what this legislation means for energy. Highlights of the IRA Energy Incentives: 30% Investment Tax Credit (ITC) on ...
The season of giving: Donations benefit SEI’s scholarship program
Around this time last year, Solar Energy International (SEI) alum, Brittany Heller, sat down and made a list of goals for the upcoming year, one of them being to further her solar education through solar PV training, specifically in battery-based technology. Soon after Brittany met SEI Marketing and Communications Manager, Mary Marshall, and SEI Development Director, Marla Korpar, at a 200-kW installation in Norwood, ...
Help support a solar-powered radio station in Tanzania
In 1997, Lukas Kariongi was an eager young Maasai from East Africa who traveled to Solar Energy International (SEI) for solar energy training. At SEI, he began his life-changing training to be a solar technician as a tuition-funded scholarship student. When Lukas first began his SEI journey back when the campus was based in Carbondale, Colorado, he linked up with SEI co-founder, Johnny Weiss. Aligning ...
NABCEP now available worldwide!
Attention international alumni! SEI is excited to announce that NABCEP certification just got more accessible. On October 17, The North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners announced that for the first time NABCEP’s Photovoltaic (PV) Associate exam will be administered outside of North America. According to a press release on NABCEP’s website, the international exam will be the same one that is offered in North ...
SEI’s solar energy training impacts projects around the world
Lessons learned at Solar Energy International (SEI) can be life-changing for students who take our solar energy training both online and in-person at our campus in Paonia, Colorado. In the case of SEI alum, Estevan Figueroa, the impact of SEI classes will spread across the world as he takes what he learned in PV301L: Solar Electric Lab Week (Battery-Based) to Uganda. Estevan traveled to SEI’s ...
Alumni Highlight: Students Terry and Bill Jackson prepare for an install in Sudan in Paonia lab classes
Students gleefully huddled around the lab yard’s steep roof mounted solar system smiling for photos as the Solar Energy International (SEI) banner whipped in the wind in the background. Cameras flashed as photos abound and the soft crunch of wood chips enveloped the lab yard as the class scattered, certificates-in-hand, to say their final goodbyes: it’s graduation day at SEI’s campus in Paonia. Terry Jackson, ...
SEI Alumni Highlight: Daniel Saldarriaga – Vulcano Operations Director in Colombia Shares Advice and Experience
“—We can’t live on this planet leaving a CO2 mark - there has to be a way to change this destructive behavior that humans have. I think solar is a way to change that. Vulcano’s Operation Director - Daniel Saldarriaga “—On the other hand we have to help the economy. Not the macro economy which people in general doesn’t understand, but the day to day ...
SEI Welcomes Americorps VISTAs to Coordinate the Delta County Community Revitalization Through Solar Program
Hello, SEI virtual family! I'm Kristen O'Brien, the first of two Americorps VISTAs to be hired by SEI to coordinate the Delta County Community Revitalization Through Solar Program. This program aims to promote economic development within the county through the creation of a more robust solar market, and thus more local employment opportunities through solar. SEI is headquartered in Delta County, Colorado--which is on the ...
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The Electric and Gas Industries Association Selects Solar Energy International (SEI) for Solar PV Training Partnership
SEI to Provide EGIA Members with best in class solar and other renewable energy training through EGIA’s Contractor Marketplace. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Paonia, Colorado - March 3, 2016 – EGIA has partnered with Solar Energy International (SEI) to offer EGIA member companies with discounted tuition from the solar industry's most respected technical training program. SEI has been training solar professionals for over 25 years and ...
SEI Spanish Hands-on Solar Installation Training Lab HUGE Success
SEI recently completed a successful FV201L hands-on workshop specifically for Spanish speakers at our training facility in Paonia, Colorado. Our second 201L Spanish lab training at SEI was a great success. Click here for more info about SEI's Programa Hispano >> We are very grateful to the instructors and students who worked throughout the week with a positive and strong spirit. We had an excellent ...
SEI Alumnus – Jeff Spies – Proudly Announces the First “Solar Pioneer Party”
By Jeff Spies - SEI Alumnus and Sr Director Policy, Quick Mount PV I first worked in the solar industry in the early 1980’s selling solar water heating systems as a part time job in college, but following graduation I launched my career into the field of industrial automation. While I enjoyed some aspects of my work, after 20 years I realized I lacked the ...
Solar Ready Vets Includes First Female Graduates from Solar Energy International’s (SEI) Training Program
Originally published in the DOE Newsletter (Amped Up!) - View original publication >> It’s never too late to start over. After serving honorably in the U.S. Army for almost five years, Sergeant Rozie Amenya was in search of a new career path. And at the age of 36, her timing was perfect as the Solar Ready Vets program was just starting up. Amenya’s new plan ...
Solarize North Fork Valley Begins First Solar Array Install!
The day has arrived! Hotchkiss, Colorado based solar installation company, Empowered Energy Systems, has begun construction on its first solar array install contracted through Solar Energy International’s program to boost the solar economy in Delta County: Solarize North Fork Valley. This is great news as we round into the final month of the Solarize North Fork Valley enrollment period. And the lucky signees are Sarah ...
SEI’s First Spanish Hands-on Solar Training Lab in Paonia, Colorado a HUGE Success
Helping Accelerate the future of Photovoltaics in Latin America! This month marks a historic time for Solar Energy International and our Spanish Program. On May 18 we began a solar electric (PV) workshop taught entirely in Spanish, at our Solar Training Facility in Paonia, Colorado. This is the first PV workshop taught in Spanish to be offered at our Colorado campus in SEI’s 24-year history. ...