Four SEI instructors team up to form nonprofit Remote Energy

Solar Energy International (SEI) is excited to announce the formation of Remote Energy, a new 501(c)3 for-impact organization. Remote Energy was started by four SEI instructors: Carol Weis, Brad Burkhartzmeyer, Chris Brooks and Jason Lerner – with one of their board members being SEI’s former international director, Laurie Stone.

Recently SEI hired Remote Energy to teach and provide a customized, battery-based PV class for the Rural Renewable Alliance (RREAL) to train Liberian technicians as part of RREAL’s Skip the Grid program. Remote Energy used their extensive international experience and curriculum development skills to adapt SEI’s proven PV training curriculum to address the specific needs and market of the attendees. Remote Energy and SEI hope to continue this partnership to reach even more technician’s and trainers worldwide in 2018.

Mary Marshall, SEI’s Marketing and Communications Manager, speaks with Carol Weis about the formation of Remote Energy:

Mary: What is Remote Energy and why did you form it?

Carol: Remote Energy’s core goal is to provide customized solar electric technical and training expertise to technicians, organizations, businesses or agencies that implement international development projects. We specialize in train-the-trainer’s courses to build local capacity in country and aide technical schools to start their own solar training program within existing departments.

Our group saw a need for high-quality customized trainings for international and lower-income populations.   We like to partner with organizations looking to use renewable energy to address issues related to jobs, health, clean water, education, gender equality, and alleviating poverty.

The Remote Energy core team has worked together for years on individual projects – doing international trainings and curriculum development – but before we all were operating our own companies. It became clear that we had a shared common vision – so it made sense to join efforts. We knew that we could take on more projects and reach a larger audience by starting an organization together.

Mary: Who is involved in Remote Energy and what parts of the world have they taught in?

Carol:  Our team together has conducted training activities and projects in more than 25 countries. We all have similar backgrounds as licensed electricians, solar installers, and working as solar trainers both nationally and internationally.

For me, I have traveled a lot to Haiti since 2009 teaching installers, training hospital technician’s in solar system maintenance, and building local capacity.  Most recently, Brad and I worked for the Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF) to help them develop a 40-week national training program for their new National Solar Training Center, run in partnership with Haiti Tec, a local technical college in Port-au-Prince.  Our curriculum is now taught in Creole by local trainers.  I have also taught in Africa and Asia.

Chris and Brad speak Spanish, and have conducted trainings in Central and South America as well as Africa and Asia. They have developed and implemented PV capacity building programs and water pumping projects in developing communities worldwide.   When they are not traveling, they work together for a solar installation company, Sun’s Eye Solar, in Tacoma, WA.

Jason is a licensed electrician an electrical contractor in WA, and has been installing off-grid systems in the San Juan Islands for 20 years. He started teaching for SEI in the Costa Rica and Guemes Island classes. It was really his initiative which pulled us all together to start working as a team.

It is exciting for me to have the opportunity to work with such a strong, qualified group that has a mission of bringing high-level education to countries with scarce economic resources. Our combined experiences position us to work on a variety of projects, from disaster relief efforts to creating top notch training centers.

Mary: How do you see your partnership with SEI developing?

Carol:  The Remote Energy team will continue our strong partnership with SEI by providing instructors for the Spanish and English PV programs.  We will also collaborate with SEI to bring technical PV training to populations that are generally underserved by capacity building programs, like the program we did with SEI and RREAL this past October.

Mary: What type of projects is Remote Energy excited about?

Carol: What I like doing the most is training trainers and helping those instructors set up solar programs within their existing communities and programs. There are technical colleges all over the world that could easily add solar to their existing electrical degree program to build up their local workforce -they don’t need to re-invent the wheel.  There is a tangible excitement in the classroom when teaching in emerging economies as they explore the impact solar technology and education can make. It is also extremely important that women are at these technical trainings as well – and thus I am looking forward to teaching more women-only classes internationally as well.

Our team also has the expertise and desire to partner with organizations to bring energy access to impoverished areas focusing on clean water, health and education. An example of this is doing PV training within the health sector by working with hospitals who are adding solar electric systems.  We have taught hands-on classes to designers and installers to assure that systems are built robust and to standards, as well as having taught specific trainings for on-site technicians who needed to maintain large inverter/battery systems to make sure systems last a long time. Good technicians are just as important as doctors in providing reliable health care – as they keep the lights and lab equipment energized. This type of training is crucial.

Our expertise can also aid in disaster relief efforts.  For example, this fall Chris Brooks is using his water pumping experience to help install solar inverter systems on existing AC water pumps to get clean water to Puerto Ricans after Hurricane Maria damaged electrical lines.  We would like to get more funding to do more of this type of work.

To find out more about Remote Energy and their projects, connect with Carol at carol@remoteenergy.org or visit Remote Energy’s website at remoteenergy.org.

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