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I had the amazing opportunity to help be a mentor (for breakout sessions) during SEIA's "Solar Ready Vets Career Connect" event (11/19/20) for veterans looking to transition from the military into solar. (s ee Solar Ready Vets Network ) Here are the event details:  Solar Ready Vets Careers Connect I wanted to capture some of the topics that I discussed with my group during our breakout session and in the group forum:  - Solar Is More Than Savings - It's important for veterans (or anyone) going into the industry to be sure their values are in line with that of solar.  Most of us, especially employers, know that solar's impact reaches beyond utility bill savings.  Solar can have a positive affect on the livelihood of a community and health of the planet. Whether it's saving a family money so they can take care of other essentials or if it's a larger approach such as with community solar, it's important to convey to hiring managers that your values are c...

Over the past few months, Energy Career Path has been working on the design and build of an energy lab for a client here in Sacramento.  The lab will come equipped with several stations that will give the organization the ability to teach energy surveys, lighting retrofit, and electrical fundamentals. For reflection, here is what the training room looked like prior to the start of the project: Here is the team showcasing elements of the progress of the project: Safety was considered a priority in the design of the training stations.  Here, we have installed GFCI's dedicated to each station. Here is the team with the training stations Workbenches with stools that can raise for use and lower for stowaway.

  ENERGY STORAGE AND EV CHARGER TRAINING First off, we want to give a big "Thanks" to the team over at Clipper Creek   for their generous donation and support for our upcoming "Energy Storage and EV Charger Training" which will be offered in 2021.   Clipper Creek  has been kind enough to donate  an HCS-40P  EV charger to support the hands-on training portion of the program.    Here's the charger that they will donate to Energy Career Path (if you click the picture, it will take you to their store): For our students that follow us and for future students interested in this training, here is the Model HCS Manual that will be referenced in the training. So stay tuned for the development of the training program and announcements of the training sites that we will offer this through. In the meantime, visit us at  www.energycareerpath.com and don't forget to connect with us. Please be sure to visit Critter Creek's FB page  and give...

ECP had it's first run at providing hands-on training with FutureBuild in Pittsburg, California with an emphasis on social distancing.  FutureBuild did a great job preparing the training site to accommodate social distancing.  This included thermometer checks (both staff and students) prior to entry into the training site, distance-compliant seating with benches as seen in the photo.  Here are some of the takeaways for organizations that are interested in opening up their training during the pandemic: 1.  Training needs to start with awareness.  Odds are that there will be a few students that have not paid attention to how the pandemic has developed since the first case.   Training should start off with the host site giving their students a class on COVID-19 and the proper way to social distance. 2.  Establishing a shared commitment to keeping the class safe.  In some instances, there are students that do not believe that the pandemic ...

First off, I want to give a big thanks for your support in 2019.   It had been a very busy year in 2019 and life as it is, caused many shifts in priorities, both personally and professionally. SAFETY As an OSHA instructor, I am well aware of how much more safety there is out there that needs to be taught.  My goal is to ensure that the organization continues its growth in the world of safety.  With that said, Energy Career Path will be expanding its offerings to include Hazwoper and Confined Spaces.   This means that ECP will take a deep dive into understanding the elements of the associated training and will provide content to support it here. OFF-GRID Several years ago, I had a conversation with one of my mentors, Brian Hurd (of Hands On Solar) about off-grid solutions.  At one point, we discussed creating an emergency solution, but unfortunately, we never got around to making that happen.  However, I've recently connected "calli...

Snow on the Sierra College NCC Campus What a beautiful way to start off Energy Survey training than on the Sierra College Nevada County Campus covered in snow....in March!  The cold air and the need to get to the warm classrooms is a great way to introduce the students many of the lessons they will during the one week course.  In this case, building science which includes the study of building envelopes and fenestrations, R-Values and U-Values, solar heat gain and so much more. Throughout the week, I will update you on the progress of the training!  So stay tuned. ~Michael For more information on the training I provide, please visit: www.energycareerpath.com (cont) Here, the students are learning how to survey HVAC systems.  Each group is assigned a building to survey throughout the week.  In this instance, the students are assessing a condenser. HVAC survey The students also learned to survey fenestrations, which are any openings in the ...

Training Future Build Cohort #13 One of the things that I love the most about Future Build is the pure heart from the organization that goes directly into guiding their students.  Thinking back to my first meeting with Future Build back in 2015, I remember how amazed I was with the energy that the class had.  The training these students go through while in Future Build runs several months at a time, teaching various construction and energy trade skills, so they've had an opportunity to bond together.  Each of the students join the program with their own story, but by the time they enter the classroom to learn from me, I am fortunate to be in front of students that had persevered through the long hours and days prior to my training. The serious students.  The committed to succeed.  Those with a positive attitude. It's these qualities that give instructors their success stories.  An organization has to have the proven capabilities (not just the means...

"beauty" adaptation of solar project in P.R. Time and time again, disaster after disaster, renewable energy has been a lifesaver.  The following articles talk about how a school in Puerto Rico has moved away from non-reliable utilities (which have been down since Hurricane Maria): Puerto Rico School Ditches Grid for Solar-plus-Storage (REW) The school's system is one of many newly created microgrids installed by sonnen Inc . One comment that caught my attention was: “The solar microgrid has had a very important impact on the community,” the school’s director, Alberto Melendez Castillo, said in an interview. “It has been very moving to see the students drinking cold water, eating fresh food and being able to work on computers powered by renewable energy.” This connects with me because it brings me back to my days of installation with GRID Alternatives .  Working with GRID, I knew immediately knew how impactful solar can be for a community in need.  It was ...

Knowledge Toolbelt - Energy Storage For the many students that have gone through any of my training, you may recall my emphasis on keeping battery/storage in your "knowledge toolbelt".  No matter what form of energy is used as a source, the person or company that solves the limitations with storage will be king. An article posted last week talks about Tesla and their efforts: Tesla Plans to Triple Battery Deployments in 2018 Tesla could be a bellwether to watch for the storage industry.  If that's the case, their big push for battery deployment is an indicator of where to steer your studies.  In this instance, battery storage technology. While much of the battery success for Tesla is in other countries, we can't ignore the value of seeing how other markets embrace the company's solutions like the Powerwall.  Similar to how other markets such as Europe are in a mature part of the photovoltaic product cycle, there are many opportunities to fig...

Congratulations to the newest cohort to successfully complete the Intro to Retrofit training! Students learning proper lock-out/tag-out procedures At the retrofit site, CCC Placer - COMET room.  Safety Implemented! Installing wallpacks During this week's training, students learned how to properly retrofit fluorescent lighting.  At the retrofit site, the students performed removals of magnetic ballasts and fluorescent tubes.  As part of the retrofit, they were able to apply all that they were taught and install new electronic ballasts and LED lighting. The retrofit site proved to be a great learning ground with so many unique problems in almost every trough investigated.  Some of problems that the students identified, troubleshot or remedied included: different ballast configurations, broken tombstones, entire troughs without lighting, improper grounding, different wiring methods from previous installations, and even rooms with...

The Sierra College Wiring/Lighting Retrofit lab was built back in December 2017 in preparation for this week's Intro to Wiring training.  Thanks to Rob Katzenstein and Brian Hurd aka Mr H., the lab looks fantastic and will ultimately provide students an awesome setting to learn all about wiring and lighting retrofits.  Here's a few shots of the lab after construction: Mr H. and Rob Katzenstein - 12/12/17 Rob K. and me - 12/12/17 Fast forward to this week, the California Conservation Corps (CCC), with centers from Tahoe and Sacramento, is on site to receive their wiring training and they're doing an excellent job.  Some of the training provided this week include: switches (3-way/4-way), outlets (15A, 20A, switched, GFCI), main service panel wiring, specialty loads, doorbell and smoke detectors! This week of training is always a student favorite because of the amount of hands on training. Here are a few shots of the training: Great job ...

The latest summary of the energy world from Power Technology is out.  Check it out here: The energy industry outlook, from 2017 to 2018 Some takeaways from the article: " The UN has revealed that national pledges will only achieve a third of the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions required by 2030 to meet targets set by the 2015  Paris Climate Change Agreement . " Despite our efforts to reduce carbon emissions, globally we're falling short.  As a result, the article shows how reliance on nuclear and oil is on the rise.  Completely opposite of what we need to do.   The same section goes on to state, " Worldwide, nuclear power capacity is set to increase, with around 50 reactors under construction ". Seems technology will need to accelerate with the cleaner energy solutions (wind, solar, etc) for us to stop going down the nuclear path.  At the current rate, storage will need to shine in order for the clean group to keep up. ...

map from acee.org The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy site is great place to get a quick snapshot of how well your state is performing when it comes to overall energy efficiency.  Check it out here: The State Energy Efficiency Scorecard In the "Energy Efficiency Portals" tab, there a whole bunch of good information on energy efficiency, including interesting disciplines such as building modeling and simulation, which uses modeling software to estimate a building's energy performance.  Might be a cool way to find out new interests.   Take a look.  Should keep you busy for a while :) ~Michael

Special shout out to the latest set of cohorts from the CCC Energy Corps that have completed their Energy Survey training!  January was a busy month as Sierra College and the CCC pushed out back-to-back training.   One CCC training center in Norwalk, CA and the other at Sierra College's Nevada City Campus. CCC Norwalk, 01-08-18 to 01-12-18 CCC at Sierra College NCC, 01-16-18 to 01-20-18 The NCC training marked the beginning of Sierra College hosting the Energy Survey training on its campus.  This presented a lot of fresh new survey opportunities for the students.  Special thanks to Donna Brazil-Bloche of Sierra College for providing top-notch support during the training. Congratulations everyone!  Good luck in your next step in your energy training with the upcoming lighting and retrofit classes. ~Michael For more,  check out energycareerpath.com

Here is a collection of energy efficiency sites that you might find useful: American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy  - Probably one of the more robust sites for energy efficiency goodies.  From job boards to 101's, this site has enough energy efficiency links to keep you entertained. California Energy Alliance Department of Energy Energy Star The EPA has a lot of information on energy efficiency.  The following is a link to energy efficiency programs within K-12 schools.

Here is a collection of links for more information on Smart Grid: Energy.gov Smartgrid.gov

Here is a collection of resources found on the web that will help you with your lighting technology research: California Lighting Technologies Center Lightsearch.com While the site is mainly intended for purchases, it's a great source for what's happening in the lighting world (vendors, new technology).  This site hosts a few blogs and newsletters worth signing up for as well. LightNOW - easy to follow blog about all things lighting.  The articles even go into interesting topics such as the effects of lighting and class segregation . Lighting Research Center NALMCO (International Association of Lighting Management Companies) TotalBulkLighting.com  - This site is a great source for videos on lighting, including T8 retrofits and the sometimes confusing tombstone.  The company takes time to break down each topic in a nice pace that's easy to follow. WN.com - Also known at The World News Network, WN.com has an energy section c...

Here is running list of resources for the energy storage sector: Sector Energy Storage Association - Energy Storage Technologies Energy Storage News  - Great place to find all things storage. Vendors Enphase - An Introduction to Solar Storage GE Renewable Energy - Battery Energy Storage Solutions (BESS) Tesla - Powerwall If you know of a great site for information regarding this topic, let me know. ~Michael

With the holidays coming up, I wanted to remind everyone that now is the time to start preparing yourself for 2013 and recall the approach that I gave regarding the preparation for the new year.   Remember, while everyone is focused on figuring out how to please families in different cities, this is your time to develop the game plan for the coming year.  This plan can include developing a list of people you want to meet/interview/help, certifications you want to earn, etc. If you haven't found your place in the green industry yet, ease some of the self-inflicted tension by reminding yourself this is a growth process and that the energy you choose to spend is better applied to emotions that move you forward, through recognition of small accomplishments, appreciation of those that have supported you along the way, and excitement about your vision of how great your journey will turn out.   The latter is something that has to get you up in the morning.  If your visio...

Occurring more frequently, the idea of blended industries seems to be the way to go.   Another article showed up in my feeds that described floating solar , this time using thin-film applications.   Still new innovation for the solar industry, I'm finding this type of application more interesting by the minute simple because the idea proves that solar will find its way into multiple industries, thereby creating more opportunities than just with a panel on the roof.   In this case, all things marine will find its way to the floating farms.   Like highways, EV's and electric charging stations, it paints a nice picture to think that the same thing can happen with electric-powered boats, stopping at the floating charge stations along the coast, eliminating the need to for the insane amount of fuel. I gloss over the idea of a solar scuba academy, but this seems like a great opportunity for both solar and scuba industries to marry.   As the floating solar farms beco...