Electricians, we can talk about more solar projects, more storage and new equipment all day. At some point, that system reaches your crew. Who is making sure the training keeps up with the work you are expected to do?
The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s September outlook projected a growing solar share of U.S. electricity generation through 2027. EIA September 2026 forecast As the industry moves forward, I want us to pay attention to the people doing the work. For the electrician, apprentice, installer and foreman, renewable energy means a system to understand, a responsibility to carry and skills that need time to develop.
The basic definition is straightforward. Renewable energy comes from naturally replenishing sources, including sunlight, wind, moving water and geothermal heat. Those sources have different characteristics, and their availability still matters. For this series, solar is our starting point because it gives us a practical way to talk about the connection between energy, electrical work and training. EIA renewable energy basics
On a solar project, a module converts sunlight into electricity. The complete system also depends on other equipment and structures, including the mounting system and the inverter that converts DC electricity to AC. Add storage and there are more questions about when energy is available and how the equipment is intended to operate together. DOE photovoltaic technology; DOE PV system design; DOE solar and storage
Each of those questions eventually reaches a person. Someone needs to understand the design. Someone needs to install the equipment. Someone needs to verify the work, document it and explain the system to the people responsible for operating it. That is where this subject becomes real for our community.
Before getting caught up in a product name, I want us to ask what the project is supposed to accomplish. Is the conversation about generating electricity, storing it for later, serving particular loads or some combination of those goals? What has actually been designed and approved?
A battery's presence alone doesn't tell a crew how a system should behave during an outage. That answer belongs in the project design and operating information. Asking for it early gives the people responsible for the work a clearer starting point.
An apprentice can begin by learning what each major component does and how to find the right information. An electrician can connect that understanding to the approved drawings and equipment requirements. A foreman can check whether the crew understands the plan and knows where to take a question. A project manager can make sure an unresolved decision has an owner before it becomes a field problem.
Contractors, engineering, procurement and construction teams, and developers have a part in that same conversation. The people shaping the project need to hear what the people building it will need to do their work well.
For us, the opportunity in renewables includes building knowledge that stays with a person as equipment and projects change. Understanding the purpose of a system, reading the right documents, asking a clear question and knowing the limits of your responsibility are useful habits across the electrical trade.
Hands-on education can help connect those habits to something visible. A good demonstration lets someone see the sequence, hear the reason behind a decision and ask about the part they don't understand. Supervised practice and feedback give the learner a way to keep developing. Watching a demonstration is a beginning; job-specific training and qualification still matter.
That is the direction of our Road to RE+ series. RE+ grew from Solar Power International into an event covering a wider range of energy technologies. It takes place November 16–19 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. We want to bring that broader conversation back to practical questions for the people building the systems. RE+ attendee information
Over the next few weeks, we'll talk about our work with RE+, why installer participation matters, what a crew needs before a project starts and how to approach the show with a useful plan.
Start with one question of your own. What part of a solar, storage or connected energy system do you want to understand better? Share the question without customer names, site details or confidential documents. A specific question gives the conversation somewhere useful to go.
Ready to bring your question into the conversation? Register for RE+ 26 and use the Installer Pathway to explore the activities that fit your learning goal. Check the pass and any additional workshop requirements before you register.