The IREC Blog

Meet members of the IREC team and the paths they took throughout their career.

If you think online training has to be dry and boring, think again. Launched today by IREC is new online interactive video solar training for local code officials, which developers say has a “This Old House” approach.

Rep. Paul Tonko today was presented with a 2017 Energy Hero Award by IREC, represented by IREC President/CEO Larry Sherwood, along with program directors from the national not-for-profit.

IREC’s Updated Catalog Helps States Navigate Models for Shared Renewable Energy By Sara Baldwin Auck Director of IREC’s Regulatory Program The national landscape for state shared renewable energy programs is growing quickly. That’s great news from where we sit, after creating the first model rules for shared renewables in 2009 (updated in 2013), and working...

While millions of Americans can more easily, safely and affordably access renewable sustainable energy today because of our collaborative successes over the last three decades, the current environment in which we operate elevates the need for IREC’s continued leadership. Our unique, critically important work must continue – in your state and mine and across the U.S. And to meet these amplified challenges head on, we need your help more than ever.

IREC and the International Association of Fire Fighters have teamed up to create online, interactive solar PV training for fire service professionals. Support for this training comes from the U.S. Department of Energy’s SunShot Initiative. Designed by experts from the solar industry and the fire service, the training guides learners through the process of identifying the...

Efforts are underway to address residential building energy use. In October, the National Network of Business and Industry Association provided a grant to the Interstate Renewable Energy Council that enabled it and the NAAEI to launch a micro-credential program aimed at apartment technical staffs.

IREC and the Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC) will host a Tools You Can Use for Community Solar webinar on Thursday, December 15, 2016 from 3:00-4:15 pm EST to learn how to apply for the challenge, build community solar challenge programs and see the newly created Community Solar Toolkit.

IREC is an independent, non-governmental, non-lobbying organization. That said, it would be sticking our heads in the sand if we did not acknowledge the proverbial elephant (and donkey) in the room. The environment in which we operate has now changed with a new administration coming to power in Washington, DC.

Originally published in IAEI magazine online 11/4/16 by Ruth Fein Revell Where were you when _____? Most of us know exactly where we were, who we were with, and what our first thoughts were as major events of our lifetime unfolded. Was it this impactful when the news hit the streets earlier this year that...

Imagine a state that has enacted all of the policies that the public and clean energy providers have asked for: an aggressive renewable portfolio standard, a robust grid modernization plan, far-reaching shared renewables. The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, people are celebrating and getting ready to build new projects -- perfect, right?

From code officials to realtors, insurers to the fire service, there are a number of industries that impact the solar transaction, and the ‘soft’ (non-hardware) costs of going solar. IREC leads national and state efforts to streamline the permitting process to help address these costs, while simultaneously recognizing that it takes a well-trained workforce to support these initiatives.

About two years ago, IREC began exploring micro-credentials as a means to supplement and, in some cases, provide an alternative to full-scope clean energy certification schemes. Through intensive discussion and research with stakeholders and credentialing partners since then, IREC has helped spur development of a blueprint for micro-credentialing that enables workers in clean energy and...

Recently, IREC's Laure-Jeanne Davignon and Fire Captain Matthew Paiss, San Jose FD (IAFF Local 230) spoke with Solar Wakeup's Frank Andorka about Solar PV Safety for Fire Fighters for the United States of Solar podcast series.

While we cheer every time a new state announces opportunities for expansion of solar energy, our applause reaches a crescendo when we see a state anticipate and plan for the resulting demand from consumers. Illinois just earned a well-deserved thumbs up for proactively adopting new interconnection rules. They are getting ahead of what other states...