Next week we’re incorporating more hands-on exercises into our standard 40-hour curriculum because of a great new solar PV lab at VP Supply in Rochester, NY.   The lab allows us to expand the hands-on portion of our Solar PV Boot Camp for our Rochester Solar Training courses.

A lot of people think incentives in New York are the best in the nation right now.  Jay Didas, from VP Supply, says they built the new training lab, “because if we were going to be serious about supporting our existing customers as they get into PV, we needed to have the right tools to do that.”

For a long time we at HeatSpring resisted working with industry partners like VP Supply because we don’t want to be tied to any particular equipment or solution.  What we realized is that we can still do that, but people getting into the industry need contacts, industry relationships, and a place to buy stuff.  If we can tighten that connection for people getting into solar and provide them with a better rolodex than with training alone, then everybody wins.  The culture, resources and people at VP Supply make it easy to get excited about them as a partner.

We’ll be using this great new PV lab on an ongoing basis as we support the growth of solar PV industry in New York.  Every HeatSpring course happens partially online (we think this is a must), but sometimes it’s easier to debate a point or have a conversation when you’re looking at the actual equipment.  So having the ability to spend some time in the lab will be a richer way to hammer home some of the basics.  The secondary reason for adding the PV lab is for the architects and entrepreneurs – unlike the contractors, they generally haven’t had any field experience, so for them it’s hugely beneficial to have a lab like this.

“The lab itself is going to evolve.” said Jay at VP Supply.  “We’re going to see how our customers want to use it and keep making it better along the way.”

We’re looking forward to seeing the place take shape.