For those who follow solar news in the United States, it’s understandable if the activity near the West and East coasts often draws the most attention. For example, during a dinner I had with Schletter’s George Varney in May, he shared his experience of visiting one of the largest solar photovoltaic farms in the world, the 550 MW Topaz power …
In the first of this series of blog posts excerpting my recently published book, Building a Brilliant Tomorrow: The Transformation of Inovateus Solar and the Energy Revolution, we introduced Inovateus’ core value acronym “PEACE,” which stands for passion, engage, ambition, creativity and esprit de corps. As you’ll see from the book, this isn’t just an acronym that we forgot. This …
Have you ever wondered how many square miles of solar installations it would take to power the entire United States? The answer may be smaller than you think. An intriguing video by Solar City shared on the GOOD website in April 2016 takes viewers for a quick tour of what it would take to electrify the entire United States on …
If someone told you that, “Together, we can build a brilliant tomorrow,” you might think that sounds poetic and perhaps optimistic—but not practical. However, I’d like to suggest that it’s not only a realistic aspiration, but that our team at Inovateus Solar is already doing just that, and we’re not doing it alone. Why are we building a brilliant tomorrow? …
It’s no secret that the Inovateus team loves to develop, build and supply solar projects throughout different regions of the U.S. and the world, and we are especially excited when we have a chance to be a part of a major solar system right here in the Midwest. Earlier this week, I headed out to Michigan State University in East …
One of the biggest trends in the U.S. utility sector is the accelerating rampdown and closure of coal-fired power generation plants. Forty-six coal-fired generating units at 25 electricity plants across 16 states will be closed over the next few years, according to a study cited in Cleantechnica. By the end of 2018, the plant closures will amount to a net …
As the Section 201 trade case cast an ominous shadow over the U.S. solar industry, I went into Intersolar North America with my ears open and my notepad ready. I was determined to soak up as much information as I could from manufacturers, advocates and solar industry leaders. Taking place this year at the Moscone Center in downtown San Francisco …
Twice a year, the U.S. solar community gets together en masse at the largest tradeshows on the conference calendar: Intersolar North America’s July run in San Francisco, followed by Solar Power International’s mid-September shebang in Las Vegas. Although Inovateus won’t be exhibiting this year, I’ll be joining several of our team members at Intersolar next week. We will be meeting …
This Fourth of July, at a time when many focus on what divides us, Inovateus views solar energy as a unifier that brings together Americans from across the entire spectrum of politics, beliefs and lifestyles. Republicans, Democrats and Independents, urban hipsters, suburbanites and flyover folks, small businesspeople, corporate managers and Buffett billionaires, military leaders, peace activists and educators—people from all …
Rarely does a month go by when one or more of Inovateus’ 40-plus team members doesn’t attend an industry conference. These events range from premier corporate events such as Intersolar North America and Solar Power International to smaller local conferences that help us keep in touch with our Midwest base. Suits and fancy booths are more the norm among the industry’s …
Many of us are determined to live minimally, recycle everything that we can, and ditch processed food for healthier natural options. These are great habits to blend into your lifestyle, but have you given any thought to actually reducing the environmental impact that you have on our planet? I’m talking about your carbon footprint, people. Carbon footprint is the total …
As we’ve noted in previous blog posts, a growing number of U.S. colleges and universities are going solar. Inovateus has experience working with facility managers installing solar at higher education institutions—including the current 13 MWDC carport project at Michigan State University (MSU)—so we wanted to share some general information about the process and what to expect when your university solar …
