SEI Online Campus Sessions Start on
Monday – June 8th – Register today
Solar Training – Anywhere / Anytime!
(Colorado Hummingbird Approved)
The only thing cooler than SEI’s Online Campus and being able to get industry-leading solar training anywhere / anytime is watching a swarm of Colorado’s hummingbirds in slow-mo being attracted by the SEI Online Campus! Watch Video >>
Starting June 8th, SEI’s Online Campus will be offering:
SEI Volunteer Work Trader Highlight: Serendipity and Paonia, Colorados
First EV Charging Station
by Gerald Espinosa SEI Volunteer Work Trader
I was on the way to move back to Denver, on a roadtrip from California with my dad. I had passed through Paonia last summer while camping in Crested Butte. Thats when I found out about SEI. I had just started exploring a budding passion for renewable energy back in California, and I thought, this town has it all, and SEI on top of it! But when would I ever get the chance to come back and make a go of this?
Originally my dad and I planned to pass through Paonia because I told him of Revolution Brewery, and we like to share a good raft beer over father son time. It was a Saturday, and I offhandedly told him of SEI. Having already been acquainted with their work, I wasnt necessarily looking to go check out the campus again. But my dad said heck why not. So we drove over and met instructor Kris Sutton in the backyard and got to talking for 30 minutes. It finally clicked, now was the time to make a go of this! I called it serendipitous, my dad called it fate.
This summer at SEI I will be working on grant writing and other development projects. Ill also have my fair share of getting dirty around the yard. My second day on the job I helped Kris and Danny pour the concrete for the first EV charging station in Paonia! And my car was the first car to get a charge.
Read the full blog…
SEI’s First Spanish Hands-on Lab in Paonia, Colorado a HUGE Success
Helping Accelerate the future of Photovoltaics in Latin America!
This past month marks a historic moment for Solar Energy International (SEI) 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 SEIs 24-year history.
The student body consisted of engineers, architects, solar PV professionals, agriculturalists, and other renewable energy professionals all of whom participated in SEIs 6-week FV101 online course before coming to Colorado. Trainees in this landmark event traveled from Colombia, Dominican Republic, Chile, Nicaragua, Mexico, Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica and the USA.
Read the full blog...
SEI Alumni Highlight: Logan Rozanski – Solar Ready Vets Gradate – SunPower
 SEI: Tell us about your experience with the Solar Ready Vets training program.
Logan: The training I received through SEI was an expansive toolbox of practical and job-pertinent information. Contrary to most formal education I never had a why am I learning this? moment.
SEI: Tell us a little bit about your new career opportunity you received after graduating from the Solar Ready Vets Program.
Logan: I have taken a position at SunPower as an Associate Remote Operations Control Center Operator; in short, I monitor module performance. I am very excited to see what sorts of things I can learn from this opportunity.
SEI: Where do you see yourself in a few years in this industry and how important will continuing education be for you to stay on top of your game?
Logan: Professional growth is something that I take very seriously and I think that this is due to my last occupation (Marine Corps). The beauty in being a voracious learner is that you widen your applicability and I plan to do just that. I foresee myself taking advantage of SEIs Developing World curriculum to see what creative solutions can be applied in various environments.
SEI: How was this program able to help you launch in the solar industry career field?
Logan: I learned so much from SEI’s all-star crew composed of seasoned installers, engineers, inspectors, and everything in between. They were always ready to answer questions ranging from quandaries based in naïveté to philosophical questions and this really spoke volumes of why the instructors were there; they were there to teach us in the purest form of the word, not just read slides. This paired with the experience of seeing that the instructors were proud to have taught us made the entire experience an inexplicable honor and a gateway to so many avenues of the solar industry.
SEI: Any advice for people considering getting technical training in this career field?
Logan: Be prepared to seize countless opportunities to shape your mind, professional worth, and understanding of a relatively unending natural resource.
Join SEI at Intersolar in San Francisco
First 10 New SEI Members Get FREE Tickets
for the 2015 Solar Battle of the Bands
Join SEI at Intersolar North America in San Francisco July 13-16!
We will be providing technical training, featuring new curriculum.
For the full schedule, click here >>
Stop by our booth #8638 to hear about our new battery curriculum, get a complete list of courses, pick up some free swag, and connect!
* AC Coupled PV Systems and Microgrids
* PV System Operations and Maintenance
* Commercial PV and Solar Farm Design Considerations
* Grid-Connected Battery-based PV System Design
 The first 10 people who sign up for NEW SEI Membership (any level) at our booth will get a free ticket to come and party with the SEI Team, Supporters, and Friends at the Solar Battler of the Bands on July 15!
SEI is an official sponsor of the Solar Battle of the Bands (SBOB), a solar industry party and musical competition. SBOB announces its fifth annual event will be held at the Mezzanine in San Francisco on Wednesday, July 15 at 8 pm.
Founded in 2011, SBOB is produced by Quick Mount PV, a solar mounting manufacturer based in Walnut Creek, CA. SBOB is a unique industry event for solar professionals that coincides with the Intersolar North America conference and trade show. SBOB brings solar professionals together through a friendly competition of company bands at one of the solar industrys most popular events.
SEI Innovation Highlight:
GoSun Grill – A Breakthrough
Solar Oven that Cooks at Night
SEI friend and supporter, Patrick Sherwin, needs your help making his dream a reality! We support Patrick and his solar cooking innovations – so should you! Help GoSun reach over $400,000 in their Kickstarter!
Check out his kick-starter campaign that ends in less than 11 days: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/707808908/gosun-grill-a-break-through-solar-oven-that-cooks
GoSun Global is a fresh voice in the conversation surrounding clean cooking, having developed multiple products using a game changing new form of solar cooking technology that excels in versatility, speed and practicality. By placing appropriate and practical solar technologies in the right hands, GoSun is focusing on the most efficient, affordable and acceptable solutions.
Working with the help of partners such as the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, GoSun is helping lead a worldwide effort to reduce reliance on dirty cooking fuels, such as wood and charcoal, with the goal of alleviating a major cause of respiratory illness, especially in women and children. With more than 2.5 billion affected daily, this is one of the worlds greatest problems and possibly the largest cause of preventable death known.
The Beautiful Road to Becoming a Solar Pro
Your Perfect Solar Training Vacation
The road on this career path is both figuratively and literally beautiful – especially if you attend Solar Energy International (SEI) as your school of choice. These photos were all taken within an hour of driving from Carbondale to Paonia, Colorado to SEI’s training facility. We hope to see you here in Colorado this summer!
VIEW PHOTO GALLERY >>
The journey to becoming a solar professional is amazing and will change your life forever. You will come in contact with some of the most passionate and technologically advanced people you will ever meet (we call them solar geeks)!
Give us a call to talk about your training goals: 970-527-7657 x1
Read more about the perfect solar training vacation >>
View SEI’s training schedule >>
SEI Welcomes Our Newest Team Member:
Kyra Holt
PV Curriculum Developer & Instructor
 Kyra Holt, a 2008 graduate of SEIs womens course, is excited to reunite with SEI as a member of the PV Team. SEI launched her career as a PV Professional and she looks forward to helping others do the same.
She started her career at Southern Energy Management (Morrisville, NC) as a solar technician where she quickly moved into the role of commercial designer. Recently shes been consulting with a number of companies on utility size PV projects and completed a Masters Degree at Duke University with a focus on power markets.
Kyra brings expertise in PV project planning and design including; full project plan-sets, project site analysis, production analysis utilizing PV SYST, layout and system design, interconnection feasibility, and drafting support. She is a Colorado native and lives in Durham NC with her husband and son. When not creating single-lines or flipping through the NEC, you can find her playing the fiddle, picking a tune on the banjo, or weeding her garden.
SEI Solar Professionals Certificate Program Taking New Applications for Summer 2015
Do YOU Have What it Takes?
SEI’s Solar Professionals Certificate Program (SPCP) is our most rigorous training program where you will have the opportunity to complete a multi-course track leading towards completing a program of study with SEI.
or call SEI Student Services at: (970) 527-7657 x1
 As the solar industry becomes more and more competitive, SEI’s full training program will help you stand apart from the growing number of people who have taken only the bare minimum to sit for NABCEP Certification or who have not received any formal training at all. If you are considering completing a path of training through SPCP in 2015, you will want to apply for admission and scheduling of your prerequisite training as soon as possible in order to complete the program in a timely manner this year.
Program completion is still possible if you start later in the training year, but becomes more and more difficult from a scheduling standpoint due to our full courses. Contact SEI Student Services today to speak to a SPCP advisor or complete the online application today.
or call SEI Student Services at: (970) 527-7657 x1
SEI Board Member – Hal Brill – Co-authors Ground Breaking Book on Sustainable and Resilient Financial Investments
 SEI Board Member – Hal Brill – co-authored a MUST READ for anyone who wishes to learn about investing in sustainable and resilient methods strengthening the human and natural systems upon which all life depends.
Buy the book:
http://www.resilientinvestor.com/#tm-bottom-c
The Resilient Investor offers a fresh roadmap that can help us become personally prepared for a wide range of possible futuresable to survive, even to thrive, in a world that is increasingly unpredictable and often turbulentwhile also being active players in making our communities and our world more resilient.
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