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.
Up Front with Larry Sherwood 
Reaching Energy Consumers
At Solar Power International last month, with more than 17,000 attendees, I wrote that IREC is proud of our broad, active involvement, and the presence we had onsite for our new consumer protection initiatives. In an interview with Solar Power World, I shared the importance of our latest work to get tools that educate and empower into the hands of energy consumers.
IREC at SPI
Solar Power International is always a great gathering of industry leaders and newcomers, improvements on trusted products alongside the latest technology, and the most current information about solar market trends and challenges. Once again, IREC is a proud SPI Partner Organization, bringing SPI attendees the expertise they have come to expect at the IREC 3iForum – Information, Innovation and Inspiration.
#BeSolarSmart
“We’d like solar professionals to put our consumer checklist directly into consumers’ hands, make it part of their marketing and sales efforts,” said IREC President/CEO Larry Sherwood at Solar Power International 2016. Three IREC consumer resources include the #BeSolarSmart checklist, Clean Energy Consumer Bill of Rights and online resources list.
It’s Never Too Late!
Our supporters recognize the value of IREC’s unique work in the nation’s regulatory arenas and in quality workforce development. And they’re proud to sponsor our 3iAwards recognizing Innovation, Ingenuity and Insight. It isn’t too late to join them!
Tagged with: IREC sponsors
Balancing Consumer Protection & Industry Regulation: Five Trends in PV Codes and Standards
Codes and standards don’t sound particularly sexy. But they are important consumer protections both for safety and quality of solar PV installations. There are literally hundreds of PV related codes and standards developed by many different code and standard development organizations. The challenge is to balance consumer protection with an appropriate level of industry regulation.
Tagged with: firefighter safety, IEEE 1547, National Electric Code, NEC, PV codes and standards, Solar ABCs, UL 1741
The What & Why of Solar Trends
It may not be news that U.S. solar energy markets continued to boom last year. In fact, solar installations accounted for 31 percent of all electric power installations in 2013. It is always interesting, however, to look at public data for insight into why and how – what the trends and challenges are – the drivers of the growing solar markets. After collecting and analyzing available data for the seventh year, as author of IREC’s recently published U.S. Solar Market Trends 2013, the answer is quite clearly a combination of factors.
