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This author chris has created 17 entries.

February 19, 2019

Important Considerations for Solar Project Developers: The SEI Professional Services (SEIPS) Advantage

Important Considerations For Solar Project Developers: The SEI Professional Services (SEIPS) Advantage by Jeff Ruppert, P.E. – Chief Executive Officer   SEIPS is proud to offer the very best quality assurance (QA) and engineering services to the solar industry. SEIPS consulting and design services include in-house licensed electrical, civil, and structural engineers. SEIPS offers QA site inspections during and after construction, commissioning services, and performance testing. SEIPS also offers ongoing evaluation services of existing systems and troubleshooting. These services are offered

January 24, 2019

Snow Considerations and Design Criteria for Ground-Mount PV Projects

SEIPS Tech Tip: Snow Considerations and Design Criteria for Ground-Mount PV Projects By Jeff Ruppert, P.E. SEIPS – Chief Executive OfficerWith team members from all over the country, and even the world, SEIPS can say that we’ve worked on PV systems in many types of weather and climate. Now that we are deep into wintertime here in the northern hemisphere, appropriately we thought we’d share some thoughts on the various impacts that snow has on our PV system design decisions. We will

December 10, 2018

SEI Engineering Case Study: Edenton Solar – 7.5MW Solar PV System Edenton, North Carolina

SEI Engineering Case Study: Edenton Solar – 7.5MW Solar PV System Edenton, North Carolina By Kyra Holt – SEIPS Director of Engineering Project Summary: The harsh and wet environmental conditions of this coastal site, located near the North Carolina Albermarle Sound, was a challenge. Our engineering team worked closely with the developer, civil engineer, and installation team throughout the entire project to create a solid design able to stand up to the test. Design Highlights: The layout was split

November 29, 2018

SEIPS Team Highlight: Kelly Larson

SEIPS Team Highlight: Kelly Larson SEI Professional Services (SEIPS) has a unique and valuable business model in that we employ many of SEI’s instructors and curriculum developers to perform technical work for our clients.  Leveraging SEI’s vast network of instructors and subject matter experts across the entire spectrum of solar PV technologies and applications gives our business model a unique edge as compared to other service providers in this space. One unique aspect to this model is the fact that we consider

October 26, 2018

SEIPS Case Study: The Nature Conservancy and SEIPS Continue Efforts with Palmyra Atoll Solar PV Microgrid

SEIPS Case Study: The Nature Conservancy And SEIPS Continue Efforts With Palmyra Atoll Solar PV Microgrid SEI Professional Services (SEIPS) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) have been working together for the past couple years on operations, maintenance and system improvements for a PV micro-grid located on the Palmyra Atoll. We had a chance to catch up with Chad Livingston, Palmyra Sustainability Director, to talk about the project. SEIPS:  Thanks for talking with us today to talk about this project. Chad: Thanks for having me.  It

October 26, 2018

SEIPS Case Study: 200 kW Solar PV Project for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 332

SEIPS Case Study: 200 KW Solar PV Project For The International Brotherhood Of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 332 In 2017 SEI Engineering was approached by representatives of the Northern California Chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association. Through NECA, the local 332 chapter of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers was planning to fund a rooftop PV system that would get them closer to their goal of a net-zero facility in San Jose, CA. The system is supplying more than 100%

July 31, 2018

SEI Professional Services (SEIPS) Receives Prestigious Honor of 2018 Solar Power World Top 500 Contractor

SEI Professional Services (SEIPS) Receives Prestigious Honor Of 2018 Solar Power World Top 500 Contractor Solar Power World, the solar industry’s leading business-to-business publication, today announced the release of its 2018 Top Solar Contractors list. SEI Professional Services (SEIPS) from Paonia, Colorado was named to this prestigious list for the first time ever. SEIPS earned a high ranking of 38th out of the top 500 contractors in the U.S. solar industry.  This ranking placed SEIPS 2nd within

May 31, 2018

SEIPS Tech Tips: Meter Selection for Solar PV Systems

Meter Selection For Solar PV Systems by Joe Villacci – SEIPS Technical Manager Choosing the correct meter for electrical testing means paying close attention to the specifications of the meter, testing requirements, and site conditions. Functional options, voltage, current, and safety ratings can vary dramatically between meters, which can easily lead to inaccurate or false readings

April 30, 2018

SEIPS Case Study: Delta Montrose Electric Association (DMEA) and Area School District Solar Deployments

SEIPS Case Study: Delta Montrose Electric Association (DMEA) And Area School District Solar Deployments As part of an on-going effort to encourage renewable energy in the local communities, SEI Engineering (SEIE) has been working with Solar Energy International (SEI) and the local utility company, Delta Montrose Electric Association (DMEA) to design 10 kW grid connected PV systems for several local schools. In addition to providing modest energy offset, these solar electric systems will serve as educational and demonstration systems

March 18, 2018

SEIPS Interview: Make solar power, not tobacco

SEIPS Interview: Make Solar Power, Not Tobacco by Janet Pelley / Originally posted by Ecological society of America Tobacco farmers could make more money if they replaced their crops with solar panel arrays, concludes a new study (Land Use Policy 2018; doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.01.010). The substitution would reduce fossil‐fuel use, prevent displacement of food cropland by renewable energy projects, and help to eliminate a non‐food crop that is the leading cause of avoidable death globally. “Deploying thousands of terawatts of solar power is necessary