SEI Alumni Highlight: Daniel Saldarriaga – Vulcano Operations Director in Colombia Shares Advice and Experience

“—We can’t live on this planet leaving a CO2 mark – there has to be a way to change this destructive behavior that humans have. I think solar is a way to change that.
Vulcano’s Operation Director  – Daniel Saldarriaga

“—On the other hand we have to help the economy. Not the macro economy which people in general doesn’t understand, but the day to day economy. Solar helps the average person save money, and that is what we aim to highlight at the company”.

Vulcano was born in Medellín, Colombia and has been in the energy industry for about 90 years. Just 4 years ago the company had started innovating on different technologies and that is how the company got to solar. Daniel is an energy passionate Business Administrator, that started working for Vulcano 10 years ago. Experiencing the transition of his company to solar energy, this opportunity has created a huge curiosity for Daniel about PV technologies.

With no previous solar energy knowledge, he started searching for information until he found SEI’s free spanish online class – ER100 . He realized at that time that the expertise and curriculum SEI offered was industry leading and decided to pay for the first course following the Professional Solar Training Program track. Once he was finished, he realized he needed a place to practice what he had learned, so he decided to take SEI’s lab classes in Paonia, Colorado. He decided to finish the entire program of study and SEI is proud to announce that Daniel is graduating this month. Daniel shared with us what SEI meant for his career:

“—Our sales on solar installation has grown 200% in the last year, there are other solar companies in Colombia that have had no growth at all. I realized that placing myself in the customer’s shoes, I learned what they need and that is someone who knows what they are doing. They needs someone who is able to provide guidance on what is the best option. And I learned all of that from SEI; how to understand customer needs and how to put in simple words how solar works and what is the best options for each one of them. One other thing I learned is that you might not always find all that you need on the market, especially in Colombia, so you’ll have to find away to work with what you have and be creative, without losing efficiency or security.”

Daniel told us that a big portion of the growth the company experienced in sales, was as a result of fixing errors that other less experience solar installers had made. The company is making great efforts to change the mindset of those people that had a bad experience, trying to make them understand that is not that solar doesn’t work, is that the system was not properly implemented. This created a negative impact on Colombia’s solar industry and in order to overcome that barrier, Vulcano had installed two solar PV systems at their headquarters for people to experience how a properly installed solar system is supposed to work.

“—To fully understand how a solar PV system works, you’ll need more than a week. SEI courses are great, they do give you an enormous amount of knowledge and perspective, but is important to go out there and experience by yourself how solar works in your local region. You leave SEI understanding all the concepts, but is important you practice them in your own country to understand the differences — Daniel says, and then he adds— SEI instructors are amazing because of that, they will teach you what the books says, what the regulation says, and what you will actually find in the field”.

Daniel gives anyone interested in working in the solar industry to keep studying, always, take continuing education training, read solar magazines and books, search the internet, and above all STAY CONNECTED WITH SEI.

“—The market is moving fast, if you go one week without learning something new, you will get left behind”

We want to thank Daniel for his time, and for generously sharing his experience and good practices, helping create a more well educated industry. We hope other solar professionals will share Daniel’s curiosity and will be motivated to continuously learn more about how to become a better solar technician and professional, so we can all achieve a world powered by solar energy.

 

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