Category: Solar Education
Solar panels installed on land owned by the Stephens County Development Authority are up and running.
The solar panels are located in the area of Turner and Wolf Pit roads. Development Authority Executive Director Tim Martin said that the panels were turned on and began producing 700 kilowatts of electricity to send to the Georgia Power grid on Tuesday morning. Martin said it is part of an initiative by Georgia Power to increase solar power usage. “Georgia Power Company wanted to increase the percentage in their portfolio of all sources of electricity, they wanted more solar,” said Martin. “So they created this advanced solar initiative and we became part of that.”
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Partly Sunny In Georgia
Jerry Grillo. Published in Georgia Trend Magazine July 2011
The state’s solar industry is growing steadily, but slowly, as the national industry explodes.
The sun preceded humans by four billion years, give or take an eon, and in another billion years it will consume us, if we don’t kill ourselves first or we somehow avoid being dispatched by plague, meteors, aliens or some other misfortune.
Another billion years. By then, if not a little sooner, Georgia surely will have figured out how to better leverage the golden opportunity that rises in the East every day. Or so it is hoped by this state’s growing legion of solar energy advocates.
“It could take many, many years, but we will get there,” says Lee Peterson, senior manager for Reznick Group’s national tax practice in its Atlanta office, where he has served as an advisor in renewable energy projects across the U.S. valued at more than $2.4 billion – but only a tiny portion in Georgia. (more…)
United Renewable Energy Designed, procured, and provided construction management services and ongoing support and maintenence for this Utility scale solar PV project. The customer is a Fortune 500 electric Utility. The installation is located at a high voltage electrical substation. Each set is tilted at 40 degrees due south.
- 21.8kw System
- 190w Sanyo Hit panels
- SMA inverters
- 27,552 kwh generated per year
- Installed November 2008
- 1,132,830 vehicle miles offset
- 574 tons of CO2 prevented
Always looking for new opportunities to connect students to sustainable jobs, Lanier Technical College has set its sights on the solar industry.
Demand for solar energy has grown about 30 percent per year during the last 15 years, according to Solarbuzz, which tracks the industry worldwide as part of the marketing research firm, NPD Group. Solar photovoltaic (PV) installations increased by 7.3 gigawatts in 2009; up from 6,080 megawatts in 2008. (A megawatt is 1,000,000 watts; a gigawatt is 1,000 megawatts.)
The firm projects strong industry growth in the Asian Pacific, European and U.S. markets for the next five years. More efficient and less-costly technology has made solar options more affordable at the same time the world has increased its demand for renewable energy sources. (more…)
Corporate Sponsors Help Lanier Technical College Build Solar Installation Lab. Alpharetta—Feb 26, 2010— Wearing hard hats, goggles, and fall protection harnesses, the first graduating class from Georgia’s only NABCEPp TM approved Entry Level Solar Photovoltaic Installer Program stand confidently on a simulated roof surrounded by solar panels. The roof is located at Lanier Technical College’s brand new Solar Photovoltaic Installation training lab at their Milton campus.
Students from various backgrounds including electrical workers, construction workers, full time students and information technology professionals are completing the class that teaches them the basics of installing Solar Photovoltaic (PV) systems. This technology converts sunlight directly to usable electricity for homes and commercial buildings. “Solar power installation is a red-hot industry nationwide and growing in Georgia. Georgia is just now beginning to take the policy strides necessary to build a strong solar industry like in North Carolina, Florida, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and California. Our students will be among the first ready to support the burgeoning demand caused by dramatically lower solar PV system costs”, said William Silva, Solar Instructor and Adjunct Coordinator of Solar Programs at Lanier Technical College. (more…)
In the last fifty years, technology has transformed the world. It has enabled us to live longer, instantaneously communicate with each other across the planet and explore the tiniest bits of our world and the furthest regions of our solar system. We are only now beginning to recognize that this dizzying speed of technological advancement – resulting in exponential population growth and an insatiable appetite for energy – has impacted the natural world. In response to this recognition, markets have created a demand for technological innovation to reduce culture’s impact on the natural world. The Gwinnett Environmental & Heritage Center will usher in the new year with “The Technology of Sustainable Design”, an exhibition about new developments in sustainable design that features the work of Atlanta-based firm Houser Walker Architecture, Timmons Design Engineers, United Renewable Energy and Suniva, a world leader in solar cells. The exhibition will run from January 9 to February 27.
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William Silva, President of Georgia-based United Renewable Energy (URE) has begun teaching Lanier Tech’s first North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) certification class. Individuals can only obtain full NABCEP certification with significant experience in the solar industry and specific knowledge of PV systems. However, introductory level certification is available through Georgia’s only NABCEP certified course at Lanier Tech, Milton Center Campus.
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