Hey NorCal Solar People!
Join us on Spring Equinox, Monday March 20th 5-7pm at Mezzo/Raleigh’s in Berkeley! Mezzo is famous for awesome huge salads. Raleigh’s is a Pub that is joined to Mezzo in the same building. We will meet in the outdoor courtyard area in the back of Mezzo/Raleigh’s. If it rains (or is cold and below PVUSA temp), we will be inside. Look for Sean wearing a NorCal shirt. You can text him at 925-482-4176 if you have trouble finding the place.
Mezzo: 2442 Telegraph Avenue (3 blocks from the University of California Berkeley campus). Usually parking on the street is not difficult and there is a garage a block away. Better yet, go green. Berkeley Bart is a 15 min walk. Greta will probably arrive at the Berkeley Marina on a sailboat. RSVP encouraged.
Yes, that’s right, NorCal solar lives! We are not about to let a busy solar industry get in the way of keeping this non-profit organization alive and well!
There has never been a better time for the solar industry, as evidenced by the huge demand on our skills and shortage of solar-related labor. We are plenty busy getting paid for working. Why should we take the time to volunteer for a non-profit? Because NorCal Solar is not just an organization. It is a community of people like you who share the vision to educate people about solar, and to create connections. As a community of solar experts and industry leaders, we will move forward by getting rid of the time-consuming things a board does; and spend our valuable time meeting a few times a year.
NorCal Solar was founded in 1974. If I remember correctly, our most recent speaker Danny Kennedy said, (and I am paraphrasing), that NorCal started the solar industry. The first solar modules available for the public in the world were arguably sold by Real Goods and AEE Solar in Northern California. Probably at one time, the majority of the PV industry was in NorCal, likely before the revolutionary FIT started in Germany in 2000. Once the California Solar Initiative (CSI) started and kicked in, about half of the PV installed in the country was in Northern California. We still dwarf any other state, as far as installed capacity goes.
Think of NorCal solar as a non-profit 501(c)(3) conduit for you solar and storage adventure. If you have a good idea, NorCal Solar can be your way to make it happen.
If you, or someone you know, is looking to boost your resume or keep busy after retiring, while at the same time making the world a better place, please volunteer for NorCal Solar. A way you can help is by organize the local National Solar Tour, which ASES (American Solar Energy Society) organizes across the country. NorCal Solar, being an ASES chapter, is committed to helping with the local Northern California part of the tour.
Speaking of ASES, we are also sort of a grandchild of ISES (International Solar Energy Society) and you are encouraged to get involved with all related organizations. In fact, we just made it so that the way to get a membership with NorCal is with a joint membership with ASES. So become a joint NorCal/ASES member by clicking the last link.
ISES and ASES have been around since 1954, being the oldest solar organization(s) according to some, but I imagine the people building Stonehenge and the Pyramids would think differently! Check out the ISES Online Solar Energy Museum and contribute historical material if you can. ISES gets involved globally fighting climate change with the United Nations COP conferences and has a global event called the Solar World Congress, which will be in New Delhi from October 30 to November 4th, 2023. The next ASES conference is in Boulder Colorado from August 8 to 11, 2023. Hope to see you there!
We hope you enjoyed the educational lynx! After all, it is our mission at NorCal to educate!
Thanks!
Sean White
Life Member of NorCal Solar, ASES and ISES
www.solarSEAN.com
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NorCal Solar in the last millennium!
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