SEI’s Brad Burkhartzmeyer Named IREC Certified Clean Energy Trainer of the Year
SEI is proud to announce that our very own Brad Burkhartzmeyer has been named the IREC Certified Clean Energy Trainer of the Year!
Brad Burkhartzmeyer is a highly skilled solar trainer. He’s also a “solar social philanthropist.” He has taught for Solar Energy International since 2009, in English and Spanish, domestically and internationally. A certified IREC Master Trainer and NABCEP (North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners) Certified Solar PV Installer, he also takes his personal commitment and 20-year expertise where it’s needed most.
He has worked with the Solar Electric Light Fund’s projects to provide power for hospitals in Africa, started a PV training program at a technical college in Haiti, and has worked with Rotary Clubs to provide clean drinking water using solar power in six rural communities in Latin America and Africa. He is a founding member of the non-profit group Remote Energy, which works directly with disadvantaged communities to develop their technical skills in solar installations. He resides in Tacoma, WA.
SEI’s Solar Ready Colorado Initiative Honored During Intersolar North America Conference with IREC i3 Awards
Solar Energy International’s (SEI) Solar Ready Colorado Initiative / Career Expo and Envision360 Virtual Reality App honored at Intersolar 2017! SEI is proud to announce that our Solar Ready Colorado Initiative has received the IREC State/Local Government Achievements of the Year!
Solar Ready Colorado is a statewide effort through Solar Energy International (SEI) and industry partners to expand the activities of outreach, recruiting, and training to the rapidly growing Colorado solar industry and jobs market.
Read more about Solar Ready Colorado >>
Through industry partnerships and support from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, the program provides a dedicated outreach and recruitment effort as well as technical training through Solar Energy International’s (SEI) long running, non-profit 501(c)(3) technical training program to those interested in entering the Colorado solar industry.
Envision360 is a solar recruitment program technology tool that gives students a virtual experience of what it’s like to work in the solar industry, using Google Cardboard Viewers and virtual reality (VR) technologies. SEI’s program, Solar Ready Colorado: Solar Professionals Training and Outreach Program and Career Expo, was funded by SEI and a matching grant from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment under the WORK Act Grant.
SEI Student Highlight: Shannon Ware
Shannon Ware is a Senior Commercial PV Designer based in St. Louis, MO. This week she traveled to Solar Energy International (SEI) to take PV351L: Tools and Techniques for Operations and Maintenance Lab Week (Grid-Direct), an intensive, advanced training designed for solar professionals already working in the PV industry who want to take their technical skills to the next level. Shannon certainly has a lot of experience in the industry. She primarily designs commercial systems, recently completing a large 322 kW DC parking structure in San Diego. In 2014, she became a NABCEP Certified PV Installation Professional.
Before getting into the solar industry, she had a full career beginning with a Bachelors of Science in Ocean Engineering,followed by a stint in commercial printing and digital publishing, and then successful time in real estate sales of historic homes. After taking an interest in green home building, she grew into a larger passion for sustainability. Shannon eventually took solar training and through an influx of serendipity immediately landed her first PV installation contact.