SEI Launches New Podcast Series!
Subscribe to the SEI Podcast Series and listen to industry insiders and gain insight from SEI’s Team to learn about the inner workings of the solar industry. This podcast series is a “behind the scenes” look at how SEI’s non-profit mission is driving the solar industry forward with deep dive discussions about the technologies that are going to make a world powered by solar energy a reality.
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SEI April and May classes filling fast!
Our in-person classes and labs in Paonia, Colorado are filling faster than ever before! Since you will need to arrange travel, it is really important that you contact SEI Student Services to enroll over the phone or enroll online as soon as possible for these in-person trainings. Same goes for online training that starts April 15th. Even our online courses are filling to capacity with hundreds of people from all over the world enrolled in the courses that started this past week.
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Colorado Governor Jared Polis Officially Proclaims Feb. 27, 2019 as Colorado Renewable Energy Day!
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Solar Energy International has been headquartered in Western Colorado for nearly 20 years. Check out our offical letter in support of the Governor’s renewable energy goals and see the full PDF proclamation linked on our blog.
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The Levi Heinold/Mountain Power Scholarship
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Scott Ely and Sunsense Solar created this scholarship to honor Levi Heinold by empowering aspiring solar professionals to complete SEI’s entry-level solar training and certification. Read Scott’s letter to Levi on SEI’s Blog.
Join us in honoring Levi by making a gift in his honor today. Visit: https://www.solarenergy.org/scholarship-funds/
Select “donate now” which will redirect you to our donation page. Write in “Levi Heinold/Mountain Power Scholarship” under Your own cause. Together, we are envisioning a world powered by renewable energy. Rest easy, Levi.
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Join SEI next week at Middle East Electricity in Dubai
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The Middle East solar industry is growing fast and SEI is helping solar professionals in the region ensure deploy quality solar PV systems. This conference is a MUST ATTEND event for anyone wanting to get connected to the solar industry in the region. Stop by at Stand # Z1.A01 and say hello to SEI during the Middle East Electricity Exhibition from March 5-7th. We’ll be there from 10am-6pm daily and look forward to seeing you in person! And don’t forget about the free show floor trainings on March 7th! Kris Sutton, Director of Business Development for the Middle East and Africa, will be leading two free seminars on Utility-Connected Solar Electric System Design and PV Systems Operation and Maintenance. See you at the show!
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April PV Trainings Announced in Oman!
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Students worked diligently this week to install and commission systems in SEI’s Oman- based PV201L: Solar Electric Lab Week hosted in partnership with Shams Global Solutions (SGS). Students assembled system racking, wired modules, commissioned inverters and tested the performance of three different PV systems at the hands-on training facility at the German University of Technology in Oman!
Meanwhile, SEI and SGS are already partnering on the next round of courses in Oman including a PV101: Solar Electric Design and Installation training beginning April 21st followed by a new software training focused on utilizing PVsyst and Helioscope in PV system design and performance verification!
Find more information about upcoming classes at shamsoman.com
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Exciting changes on the SEI Board!
 We are pleased to announce Johnny Weiss, retired SEI Co-Founder, has joined our Board of Directors. Johnny brings his passion for SEI’s charitable and outreach programs to our diverse group of directors. Since his retirement from SEI in 2012, Johnny has focused his efforts on capacity building in Tanzania with SEI alum Lukas Kariongi (see below) and to strengthen and expand the Red Cloud Renewable Energy Center on the Pine Ridge Reservation, SD. “As co-founder, Johnny brings invaluable wisdom and institutional knowledge as we enter this next exciting chapter to almost double our impact in the next three years. He’s been an inspiration and mentor to so many people in the industry, myself included, and it’s an honor to have Johnny in the official capacity of a director on our board.” stated SEI’s Executive Director Kathy Swartz.
Read more…
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SEI Co-Founder and Newest Board Member,
Johnny Weiss, Travels to Tanzania!
Johnny Weiss, retired Co-Founder and newest board member, is currently in Tanzania working with SEI alum, Lukas Kariongi, in developing local solar capacity. In 1997, was an eager young Maasai from East Africa who traveled to SEI to be trained as a solar technician. He attended as a tuition scholarship student. His participation was initiated and sponsored by Dave Berger, a fellow SEI alum.
For nearly twenty years, Lukas has been working to fulfill his goal of solarizing his home village of Terat, Tanzania. Now a progressive village leader, he recently started and is the Managing Director of the Rural Community Support Organization (RUCOSUO), a community-based NGO focused on solar development.
Read more…
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SEI Welcomes Kristen O’Brien as our new PV Lab Associate!
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Kristen is a Solar Sister, with a capital “S”. She follows the philosophy that since the sun is the source of all energy, we should look to it first to provide design guidance in our built environments. Kristen worked with SEI in 2014 as a work trader and through 2015 as an AmeriCorps VISTA, spearheading SEI’s Solarize efforts. We’re so excited to have Kristen back on the team!
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Will you be attending the
NABCEP CE Conference March 25-28?
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Many of our students and alumni will be there and we highly recommend getting connected with NABCEP if you are serious about a career in solar energy! This is one of the MUST ATTEND conferences for solar professionals in the industry.
More info…
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SAVE THE DATE – LABOR DAY WEEKEND
THE SECOND ANNUAL “SOLAR FAMILY REUNION”
Mark your calendars for the successor event to the popular Solar Pioneer Parties. The Second Annual Solar Family Reunion will take place on Labor Day weekend (Aug 30 to Sep 2) in beautiful Paonia, CO, home to Solar Energy International. Join solar pros and solar family members from around the country to learn, connect, and have fun in a relaxed atmosphere with that special solar family reunion feel, plus we will be showing “Solar Roots – the Pioneers of PV”, the documentary film that tells the TRUE story of the birth of the solar industry.
Registration, camping, tours, hikes, and other information will be announced in early March, so stay tuned for updates.
We look forward to seeing you at the Second Annual Solar Family Reunion!
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Solar Energy International (SEI) will be offering a total of 8 solar energy workshops during Solar Power Mexico 2019. The free event will take place at the Citibanamex Center, Mexico City, Mexico from March,19-21.
Registrations are open, for the 3 paid workshops:
- PV Installation Best Practices – Tuesday March 19, 9am – 12pm
- Point of Interconnection – Wednesday March 20, 9am – 12pm
- Tools and Techniques for PV System O&M – Thursday March 21, 9am – 12pm
See more details
And don’t miss the free on-the-floor workshops that will be offered:
- PV System Types and Components – Tuesday March 19, 1pm – 2pm
- Site Analysis and the Solar Resource – Wednesday March 20, 1pm – 2:30pm
- Inverters Types, Topologies and Selection Considerations – Wednesday March 20, 3pm – 4pm
- Ground Faults and Ground Fault Protection – Wednesday March 20, 4:30pm – 5:30pm
- OCPDs and Disconnects: which, where, and why – Thursday March 21, 1pm – 2:30pm
See more details
Use our code for U83BYTAU a 15% off full conference registration
Solar Power Mexico is organized by three of the leading trade show companies in the world: Deutsche Messe, SNEC PV Power Expo, and Solar Power International (SPI) have joined forces to help develop the Mexican solar energy market.
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Our partners in Gunnison County launched their Solarize program this month with the help of Solar Energy International’s Solar Forward Program technical advising. The event was a huge success and over 50 people have already registered in the County to learn more about going solar with Solarize. Click the image to read more on our blog.
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