|
|
Renewable Energy Classes & Workshops
Interested in learning more about renewable energies? The Minnesota Renewable Energy Society (MRES) offers classes in solar hot water, PV design and installation, and small-scale wind design and installation. To be informed about these and other future renewable energy classes, please fill out our contact form and indicate which topics most interest you. We will send you information on the next available classes when they are scheduled. Upcoming Classes & WorkshopsCareers in Renewable EnergySaturday, March 13, 20108:00am - 12:00pm $65.00 for members $75.00 for non-members Class Location Century College 3300 Century Avenue N. White Bear Lake, MN 55110 Century College and the Minnesota Renewable Energy Society have co-developed a new half-day course for people interested in exploring renewable energy careers. One of the most common questions people ask about renewable energy is: "How can I be involved in this rapidly expanding field?" Find out the answer to this question and a multitude of others in this 4-hour session. Careers involving solar and wind site assessment, design of systems, installation of systems, and many other aspects of solar PV, solar thermal, and wind power applications will be discussed. Ralph Jacobson, a 25-year veteran of renewable energy system installations and owner of IPS (Innovative Power Systems), one of this area's largest solar installers, is the course instructor. He is a materials engineer, NABCEP certified in both solar PV and solar thermal installation. Ralph is currently involved in developing strategies for growing the solar industry in Minnesota and developing training programs for the building trades. He is also on the Board of Directors of the Minnesota Renewable Energy Society. If you are a Minnesota Renewable Energy Society (MRES) member, you can receive a $10 discount on the course fee. Please contact the Century College registration office by telephone at (651) 779-3341 to receive the discounted rate. Click here to register on the Century College website. Understanding Solar and Electricity Usage in your Home for WomenSunday, March 28, 201010:00am to 3:00pm $50.00 for members $70.00 for non-members Class Location City Academy/Wilder Recreation Center 958 Jessie Street St Paul, MN 55130 This class will discuss utility bills, energy use, simple load analysis and efficiency efforts people could do in their homes today in order to reduce the size of the solar system they would need. We will do a rough look at how much PV each person would need on their house. We encourage people to bring their last 12 months of electric utility bills. We hope people will leave knowing what efficiency measures they could take, what size system they would roughly need at todays bills, what a solar PV system would roughly cost them and how they can reduce system size through efficiency. The first 20 people to sign up will receive free access to the Enhanced Learning Network (ELN). The ELN is the same online learning environment used by Dunwoody Custom Training during their five day, Residential Energy Auditor program. For one week following this class you'll have access to a series of instructional videos that focus on building related math exercises, critical energy calculations and conducting a Blower Door test. You'll also find a brief tutorial on analyzing annual energy costs. The ELN is a must for anyone considering a career as an Energy Auditor or just wanting to learn more about energy efficiency. (An active email account, supported Internet browser and a high speed Internet connection are required.) Please bring your own lunch, we will take a quick half hour lunch break. To easily receive your last 12 months of bills from Xcel Energy call 1-800-895-4999 and ask for a Billing and Consumption Report to be emailed or mailed to you. This will be a women focused class taught by Carol Weis from SEI (Solar Energy International) located in Colorado. She is also the co-founder of SEI's Solar Sisters, which we hope to establish a branch of here in Minnesota. This is our second class that is part of MRES's efforts to bring women into renewable energy more. We will register women only first. We will create a waiting list for the gentlemen and allow them into the class a space permits, but we will be making sure the class is majority women attended. Please email Laura Cina at laurac@mnrenewables.org to be put on the waiting list or call 612-963-4757.
Starting and Growing a Solar BusinessThursday, April 22, 2010Thursdays April 22 and April 29 $90.00 for members $110.00 for non-members Class Location Century College 3300 Century Avenue N., White Bear Lake, MN 55110 Room (April 22 & 29): Century East Campus Room 2301 The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) says that the solar photovoltaic industry has been growing by 35% or more per year since 2000. This sustained growth exceeds that of the semiconductor industry. According to the U.S. PV Industry Roadmap, solar electricity will continue this trend and become competitive by some time in 2010 for most U.S. domestic markets. By 2020, solar could provide 15% of the U.S. electric generation capacity, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). SEIA estimates that by 2020 more than 880,000 new solar jobs would be created in the U.S. while reducing total energy emissions by 10%. To explore some of these business opportunities in the solar energy industry, the course will present, business planning tools, such as pre-organizational planning for business entity choices, business environmental analysis, strategic business planning, and finance, operations, and marketing plans. Skills you will learn in the course will include planning for a sustainable competitive advantage, writing a preliminary business plan, and the course will also include management and leadership theory. Resources provided in the course will include handouts of business, finance, and marketing plan outlines and examples, reference lists and sources of additional information for starting a solar business. Instructor: The course instructor is Jan Hubbard. Jan has over 30 years of experience working in the electronic communications manufacturing industry where he filled various business development, marketing, sales management, operations, and cross-functional leadership roles. He has an MBA from St. Cloud State University, a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics and Business Administration from the University of Minnesota, an electronics diploma from Anoka Technical College, and a graduate certificate in Public Relations from the University of St. Thomas. Jan is a founding Board member and the Treasurer for the Minnesota Solar Energy Industry Association (MnSEIA). Jan has also been a Board member for the Minnesota Renewable Energy Society (MRES) since 2008. He has completed MRES/MREA training in solar thermal, solar PV, and wind energy technologies. He believes that renewable energy is important for environmental sustainability and that solar energy is important to develop further, because it has the potential to be less expensive than coal, and solar energy is cleaner and one of the most sustainable and abundant renewable energy sources. Co-instructor: Ralph Jacobson will be the co-instructor in the course. Ralph is the founder and CEO of Innovative Power Systems. He is a certified solar installer and energy auditor with over 25 years experience as a solar installation contractor. Ralph is North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) certified and has a B.S. in Materials Engineering from the University of Minnesota. Ralph is an MRES Board member and the President and a Board member for the Minnesota Solar Energy Industry Association (MnSEIA). Course ID: 002535 You will receive 0.72 CEU's for attending. Register for this class by calling Century College CECT: Phone: (651) 779-3341. To get the MRES discount, you will need to register by telephone. You may also register online on the Continuing Education and Customized Training (CECT) website, by clicking here. |
