Below are the upcoming practical dates for Grid Connected courses:

• July 3rd, 4th & 5th 2013 (Wed - Fri)
• August 7th, 8th & 9th 2013 (Wed - Fri)
• September 18th, 19th & 20th 2013 (Wed - Fri)
• October 30th, 31st & November 1st 2013 (Wed - Fri)
• December 11th, 12th & 13th 2013 (Wed - Fri)

GSES recently undertook training on the island of Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. This training was undertaken in an effort to bolster local capacity in the solar industry. This training, focussing on grid-connected systems, was attended by government officials, electricians, local trainers and energy utility workers.

Our PV System has been up and running since late 2012, and has finally passed 1MWh of generation.

You keep track of our generation via live updates here: http://pvoutput.org/intraday.jsp?id=13248&sid=11154.

 

With the recent updates to AS/NZS 5033 there are necessary changes reflected in our Grid Connected PV Systems Design and Installation resource. These changes are available online for free in the publications section of our website.

The inaugural Education for Sustainability Conference (EFS) at Ryde, presented by Northern Sydney InstituteTAFE will be held February 7 to 9. National VET educators are gathering together to discuss the path to a low carbon economy through education.

GSES will be sponsoring keynote speaker, Dr Debra Rowe President - US Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development, Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, USA.

Susan Neill will be present to discuss education for sustainability and engaging industry, throughout the conference.

GSES is excited to be part of this inaugural EFS conference promoting education for sustainability as this is congruent with our vision as Australia's Clean Energy Educator.

 The Bureau of Meteorology has released its One Minute Solar Data. There are 29 locations over Australia recording solar data each minute - this data is available for use.

 

The Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) has been supporting the International Renewable Energy Association (IRENA) since last year on their development of an online renewable energy training platform. This platform, known as IRENA's Renewable Energy Learning Partnership (IRELP), was launched at CEM3 London, and is now available!

IRENA has identified that although there are some industrialised countries with relatively well-developed renewable energy sectors, there is still a demand for skilled renewable energy personnel that is not being met. There appears to be a lack of those who can teach and train, as well as information that is readily available in regard to renewable energy.

IRENA's aim therefore was to fill these knowledge gaps through the online training platform IRELP. It was designed to make quality information and training available to those who wish to learn about renewable energy, including students, trainees, trainers, and government bodies. Also included is the ability for self directed learning using the IRELP Library.

Here is the latest news for the Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP). You can also subscribe to their news yourself to keep abreast of what's happening in renewables and energy efficiency around the globe.

REEEP News, May 2012.

 On the 23rd of April, Geoff Stapleton attended an IEA-PVPS strategies meeting in Stockholm, Sweden. Other Australians in attendance were Muriel Watt, Chair of APVA, and Greg Watt, Australia's expert on Task 1. Geoff has represented Australia on Task 9 for over 10 years. Current tasks of IEA-PVPS include:

• Task 1: Exchange and dissemination of information on photovoltaic power systems
• Task 8: Very large scale photovoltaic power generation systems in remote areas
• Task 9: Deploying PV services for regional development
• Task 11: PV hybrid systems within mini-grids
• Task 12: PV environmental health and safety
• Task 13: Performance and reliability of photovoltaic systems
• Task 14: High penetration of PV systems in electricity grids

The purpose of the workshop was to develop the strategy for IEA-PVPS tasks and activities relating to the period of 2013 - 2018. Through the collaboration of member countries, IEA-PVPS has developed useful technical and non-technical information. Historically it has aimed at identifying issues in the deployment of PV, working at developing solutions through collaboration and then documenting the outcomes in freely available reports.

Discussions included; what are the upcoming issues for the PV industry that PVPS could be involved with, and how to more widely disseminate the information that is developed by PVPS. The strategy would day would then be used by the executive committee (Exco) to formulate the direction of IEA-PVPS for the next 5 years. The Exco was meeting on the following two days, the 24th and 25th of April.

Geoff then travelled to Chambery, France, to attend the 6th European Hybrids and Mini-Grids conference. There were 175 delegates at the 2 day conference which included formal presentations and a number of poster sessions. A number of the presentations and posters related to the control issues within hybrids and mini-grids. There were also a number of presentations on actual systems installed around the world and the technical/physical issues involved in installing and maintaining those systems in remote regions. One point that was raised many times was the fact that diesel fuel is expensive in these remote regions while PV prices have dropped significantly in recent years thereby making the economics of PV more attractive for hybrids and mini-grids.

Susan Neill and Geoff had prepared a paper and poster titles: Applying lessons learnt from the implementation of Solar Home systems to the implementation of Hybrid systems in developing countries. Those with posters were able to present 2 slides only on their poster to entice people to visit their poster. Susan and Geoff's focus was that the main reasons for system failures in developing countries were generally not technical, and regardless of equipment quality, many other issues needed to be addressed to make the sustainable energy based hybrid systems sustainable!

Chambery is in the French Alps, and Geoff had a day off of driving through the Alps before flying home to Australia - though delayed 22 hours at Heathrow due to plane mechanical issues flying out of France!

Are you looking for an affordable training or meeting venue for solar or electrical training that offers something more?

The GSES Training Facility is now available for hire. This facility is professionally and comfortably fitted, and just 10 minutes away from Sydney's International and Domestic airports.

GSES' facilities are perfect for sit down meetings and conferences, while our practical training room offers the opportunity for industry run courses with significant practical elements; everything you need to run a successful and profitable presentation, course, function, meeting or service.

Facilities include:

• 24 workstations
• Electronic overhead data projector
• Whiteboards
• High speed internet connection
• Kitchenette with tea and coffee facilities
• Fully air conditioned
  
  

Additional services can be arranged, including:

• Printing services
• Administration including meeting, greeting, registration etc.
• Refreshments and light meals
  
  

The GSES Training Facility is conveniently located:

• 10 minutes from Sydney's International and Domestic airports
• 5 minutes from Eastgardens Westfield shopping complex
• 5 minute walk from public transport
• Ample street parking
• Coffee shops, cafes and restaurants are nearby
  
  

In July 2010, GSES undertook an 18-month business review, planning and brand refresh program after qualifying for the Australian Government's Enterprise Connect initiative. It was an invigorating and certainly confronting experience working 'on' the business instead of 'in' it, but as a result, we have reached milestones ahead of schedule as well as been able to future proof our business more effectively.

Enterprise Connect works specifically with small to medium sized businesses in industry including manufacturing, resources, defence, tourism, creative sector and clean technology.

Eligibility for the program meant we were able to tap into the expertise of the Enterprise Connect business development resources as well as secure funding for tailored advisory services. This gave us the opportunity to engage an external branding agency and business strategy consultants to help us present our capabilities and brand offering with a far greater level of clarity and simplicity.

As with all businesses we still have challenges ahead of us being directly influenced by government policy. However we are now far more nimble, have grown the size of our team and strengthened our capabilities to manage risk through better processes and systems as well as showcase ourselves as a brand more effectively.

Read about our journey in the Enterprise Connect Report.

Below are the upcoming solar training nights:

April 17	Design task help session
May 1	DC Circuit Breakers
May 15	Commercial PV Design and Installation
May 31	Introduction to Stand-Alone Systems
June 12	Design task help session
June 26	DC Circuit Breakers

These solar training courses are short theory nights designed to give an overview of each topic. 

Light refreshments are provided, and all training is held at the GSES Solar Training Centre: Unit 6, 17-19 Green St Botany, SYDNEY NSW.

PV America West - one of the largest photovoltaic conferences in the United States of America - played host to the unveiling of several new and innovative products that may in time transform the business of installing solar arrays as we know it. A major development that GSES has been watching since it's inception is the micro-inverter; an inverter designed to convert the output of each individual solar module to grid voltage. Unfortunately these inverters remain largely unavailable in the Australian market, with the ones currently present having an unproven track record. Our talks with Enecsys and Enphase, two top-tier micro-inverter manufacturers, indicate that Australia is high on their list of market expansion territories. We'll keep you posted on their arrival.

If micro-inverters are an exciting development, Westinghouse Solar's newest product is a complete game changer. Forget about wiring DC. Forget about wire management altogether! Westinghouse's innovative AC module has an AC wiring that simply clicks into the module beside it. 

It also features a proprietary rail-less mounting system; the modules are screwed together by a thread in the module frame. We are seeing more and more manufacturers embracing rail-less mounting systems, most notably the Zep system and it's many licensees. These systems have the potential to greatly speed up installation times.

While out and about in the US, we were again surprised by the proliferation of solar shading devices. Perfect for schools or shopping centres where the roof is covered in HVAC or just not structurally sound enough for a large array, these structures are cheap, dual-purpose and prevent the headache of dealing with existing roof warranties.

These structures are perfect for Australia, think of it - no more steaming hot leather seats! Why we haven't seen these here yet is mystifying.

Here is another innovative array, this time at AT&T park - San Francisco's premiere baseball field. The solar window shades run the length of the southern edge of the ground. As some of the eagle-eyed among you may notice, the second and third windows from the right only have glass installed in the module frames. Those two windows required more light than the others, but the aesthetics dictated that they could not be left without a similar structure built over them.

We hope you've enjoyed this little speak peek at some of the innovations from America and as always, keep checking in on the GSES website for more news from the solar industry.

The original Suneye 100 from Solmetric has finally reached the end of its life and the company has announced it will no longer be supporting the product. 

The solmetric range has long been a main stay of the industry, and since we know many of our past students use products from the company we thought we would pass on the news that the Suneye 100 was being shelved in favour of newer models.

Read Solmetrics newsletter about the changes, and contact your supplier about what alternatives there are if your Suneye is faulty or reaching the end of its life.

People around the world with no access to electricity? 25%

Solar Lanterns are a simple product that makes a significant impact on the daily life of people in developing countries. Consisting of a solar cell, LEDs and a battery, these lanterns can be left to charge during the day and then provide households with light at night to read, work, cook or many of the things we take for granted!

Organisations around the globe such as Barefoot Power and Rotary support the development of the Solar Lantern market, as well as manufacturing and distributing lanterns by those affected by natural disasters.

This week Matt and Sue have gone to America to check out PV America West, and meet up with friends in the American solar industry.

Matt posted this report from Calafornia:

"This year PV America West Conference was held in the beautiful Bay Area of California, in San Jose. San Jose is located in the heart of Silicon Valley - the perfect location for showcasing cutting edge photovoltaic products.

The conference is broken into two components, the exhibition where new products are displayed and the four discussion streams. Each discussion stream is a means of sharing knowledge about a certain topic - policy, technology, utility interaction and education. GSES have been attending these discussions, absorbing as much knowledge as possible from the major players in the US industry as well as contributing wherever we feel our experience in the Australian and Pacific Island markets may prove helpful.

Particularly prevalent in the exhibition are the mounting system and monitoring system providers, out to carve out a market for themselves in highly competitive areas of the PV industry. Many major players were in attendance - it was a good opportunity to encourage the speedy transition of new products to Australia.

We'll keep you posted over the coming months about what we've learnt and the exciting new products that are heading to Australia"

IPART has released its report on the Market value of solar PV exports following a six month study. The report has found that a "fair and reasonable value" for a solar feed-in tariff is 5.2 to 10.3 cents per kilowatt hour.

Along with this report IPART also released a Consumer Fact Sheet and a report summary fact sheet for industry participants interested in the key points of the report.

It is important that all industry participants are aware of this report and its implications. GSES will keep our website up to date with industry best analysis and responses to this report.

Read the Clean Energy Council's response.

GSES March Newsletter Out Now!

Have a look at our latest newsletter to stay up to date with GSES and the solar industry.

Want to know the in's and out's of selling solar power systems? GSES has developed a book, Solar Sales: an industry perspective, specifically to address the issue of selling solar within the solar and renewables industry. 

This book aims to provide technical and theoretical information regarding selling solar power in a user friendly format for both consumers and sales people, so that at the end of the day businesses and end customers receive the best outcome from their solar power system!

DKSH has just release the latest PVPower Newsletter with lot's of information for Solar Designers and Installers. GSES' article on Sealing Roof Penetrations identifies many common mistakes made when installing and recommends methods that can be used to ensure a durable water tight seal.

The NSW Department of Fair Trading has released changes to the NSW Home Building Act which relate to the day to day work of PV Designers and Installers in NSW.

Key points of the article include:

• simpler written home building contracts are required for small jobs worth between $1,001 and $5,000
• all residential building work worth more than $20,000 must be covered by mandatory home warranty insurance. The previous threshold was $12,000
• aligning the time periods for statutory warranties on home building work with those for home warranty insurance (ie. 6 years for structural defects; 2 years for non-structural defects). The previous statutory time limit was 7 years for both structural and non-structural defects
• the minimum level of home warranty insurance cover is increased from  $300,000 to $340,000
•  home owners only pay $250 to make a home warranty insurance claim, rather than the current $500 cost
• strengthening the definition of parties ‘related to’ a builder or developer to prevent abuse of the home warranty insurance scheme.

 

The Grattan Institute has released a new report on the future of Australia's energy supply. Titled No easy choices: which way to Australia's energy future? the report looks at barriers to renewable energy deployment in Australia and is a must read for anyone looking to work with larger PV systems.

The report can be found by going to http://www.grattan.edu.au/pub_page/124_report_tech_choices.html and clicking on "download a copy of the report".

GSES Directors Geoff Stapleton and Susan Neill were commissioned by Earthscan Ltd. (now Taylor and Francis) to write the 'Grid Connected Solar Electric Systems' book for their Expert Series. Earthscan Ltd. (now Taylor and Francis) is a leading publisher on climate change, sustainable development and environmental technology academic, professional and general, readers.

The Solar PV Industry has grown immensely in recent years, resulting in a demand for entrants into the Renewable Energy Sector to be knowledgeable of Solar Power and Products.

This demand comes not only from the community, but also from those involved in the marketing, sale and installation of Solar Electric Systems. This book is intended for readers with a non-electrical background. It covers the basics of Solar Technology, and the issues surrounding design, installation and maintenance of Grid Connected Solar PV Systems.This demand comes not only from the community, but also from those involved in the marketing, sale and installation of Solar Electric Systems.

Other GSES publications on Solar PV are available in our shop.

 The dates for professional development short courses are out. Visit our shop to view dates and to register for the short courses. 

The courses include:

• Expanding Grid Connected Systems
• RECs, STCs & FiTs
• Commercial PV System Design and Installation
• Introduction to Stand Alone Systems
• DC Circuit Breakers

 The US Department of energy has released a very helpful Career Pathways Application. This can be found in our links page, or by following the following link:

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/careermap/

GSES now has a new Training Facility for all practical training. From November, all practical training will be held at our Sydney complex, located at unit 6, 17-19 Green Street Botany, NSW 2019.

In most recent news, GSES has won the Sydney Rides Challenge in the category of 7-19 staff! GSES came in a close 1st with 100% participation and 3 new riders. A great thanks to everyone (and I mean everyone, 100% is all our staff)  at GSES for pulling their weight, or should I say pedaling their weight, for this momentous win. Our effort has been rewarded with an office masseuse for a day. Hooray!

 GSES is now running a new short course entitled Commercial PV System Design and Installation.

The course covers:

• The importance of Commercial Photovoltaics
• Commercial versus Residential PV
• Commercial PV project types
• Design considerations
• Products for Commercial PV
• Site evaluations
• Installation of Commercial PV 
• Post-Installation issues
  
  

 GSES has signed up to the Sydney Rides Challenge.

We are aiming to have all our staff participate in the challenge by getting everyone to ride a bike for at least ten minutes between the 26th of September and the 16th of October, even those who don't own a bike!

Join our team if you want to support us, or sign up your organisation to support this new competition. There are prizes!

 GSES' article Isolator Enclosures - more than just a box has been published in DKSH's PVPower newsletter.

The fourth in the series this article looks at some of the common mistakes made when installing roof top enclosures. With useful tips and hints on how to install enclosures to maintain IP rating this article is a must read for anyone installing PV systems.

Download the article from the resources section from our website today.

GSES has opened its new Sydney training rooms for the first time.

The new training rooms are in the same complex as GSES' Sydney Head Office  and provide more space for Theory Nights and group training sessions, which can be tailored to suit your organisation's training needs.

As well as providing additional space, the new training rooms are the perfect location for GSES' interactive training displays and additional dedicated resources. These upgrades are part of GSES' commitment to creating an enjoyable, comfortable and effective learning experience.

We look forward to seeing you in Unit 6, 17-19 Green St Botany!

 GSES has confirmed the dates of another four Theory Nights that are to take place before the end of October. GSES will be running its four most popular courses which are constantly being updated to reflect recent developments in the solar industry. Book in soon to ensure that you and your organisation remain informed and at the forefront of the Australian Solar Industry.

The course dates are:

 

7/09/11 - Expanding Grid Connected PV Systems

21/09/11 - RECs, STCs and FITs: The financial acronyms that affect our industry

11/10/11 - Intro to Standalone

26/10/11 - DC Circuit Breakers

 

Click here for full details of the courses, and to enrol.

The new Fronius Web App is here!

This app allows you access your PV System's yield from afar using a smartphone or tablet.

Click here for more information from the Fronius Web Site.