EmPower and Sunpower are proud to sponsor Team New York in the 2011 Solar Decathlon

The 2011 Solar Decathlon is being held in Washington, D.C. and runs from September 23rd thru October 2nd.  EmPower Solar and Sunpower are proud to sponsor the students from CCNY .  Check out the video below to see what they have been working on.

Click here to read the Official Press Release.

EmPower Essay Competition with Prizes

EmPower Solar is sponsoring a renewable energy essay competition.  The grand prize will be an all expenses paid trip to Washington DC from Saturday, October 1st to Sunday, October 2nd to see the Department of Energy Solar Decathlon competition!  The competition is open to all students who attend a high school in New York.  The deadline for submissions is Wednesday, September 21st.   Click here for details about the competition.

Emily Hwang Becomes EmPower’s 5th NABCEP certified Installer: The Most on Long Island

Emily Hwang, one of EmPower’s Solar Engineers, has received National recognition by NABCEP  (North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners) by becoming certified in Solar PV installation.

Emily Hwang displays her NABCEP Certificate

EmPower is proud to boast that we have more NABCEP certified installers than any other solar contractor on Long Island.  Pictured below are EmPower’s 5 recipients of this prestigious certificate of achievement.

EmPower's NABCEP Certified Installers: David Hawkes, Greg Sachs (COO), Emily Hwang, David Schieren (CEO), and Mike Dunne

NABCEP is a nationally recognized credentialing body formed to set competency standards for professional practitioners in the fields of renewable and sustainable energy. Practitioners who choose to become certified must demonstrate their competence in the field and their commitment to upholding high standards of ethical and professional practice.

For More information on NABCEP please click here.

To meet Emily and some other members of our illustrious team click here.

EmPower Solar would like to congratulate Emily on this Milestone in her career and in maintaining the spirit of the EmPowering Way

Keep The Solar Decathlon On The National Mall

It was recently announced that the US Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon competition would be moved at the last minute from the National Mall in Washington DC to a different location that has yet to be announced.   Since 2002, four Solar Decathlons have been held on the Mall, and the 2011 teams have been planning for over a year to compete at the venue.   See the January 14 New York Times Article for more background information.

As leaders of the Solar Decathlon Alumni Association (SDAA), we are supporting the student led initiative to keep the competition on the Mall.   Towards that end, we are endorsing an online petition created by the students that can be found here: http://www.petition2congress.com/3973/.  We are also directly requesting support from our political representatives.  The current participants are doing an incredible job at generating support.     For example, Senator Menendez of New Jersey has issued a press release in support of this effort: http://menendez.senate.gov/newsroom/press/. 

We believe that the Solar Decathlon competition is vital to the success of clean energy in the United States and all over the world.  It is our position that the National Mall is essential to the competition’s value and prestige.  Students and sponsors from the US and international teams are inspired to compete in such an historic location.  The Solar Decathlon is about inspiring students – the leaders of the next generation, faculty – the educators of future leaders, and entire university communities to embrace renewable energy.

As a former decathletes and a member of the Solar Decathlon Alumni Association, we know first-hand the influence and deep impact of the competition.  Having it at the Mall, the most prominent location in our country, the “front-lawn” of the United States of America, is instrumental to its success. 

For information about this year’s event please visit www.solardecathlon.com.  

David Schieren, CEO

2005 Solar Decathlon NYIT/USMMA Team Leader, 2007 Advisor. 

Gregory Sachs, COO

2005 Solar Decathlon NYIT/USMMA Lead Engineer, 2007 Advisor

Matthew Mathosian, Commercial Project Manager

2007 Solar Decathlon NYIT Lead Architect, 2011 CUNY Advisor

EmPower is the lead sponsor and solar advisor of the 2011 Solar Decathlon CUNY Team

David Schieren appears in National Building Museum Video

Since its creation in 1980, the National Building Museum (NBM) offers exhibits, presentations, and educational materials on the built environment.  For the past 24 years, it has honored leading individuals and organizations in architecture, engineering, construction, planning, and design.  This year’s Honor Award was a Salute to Civic Innovators which recognized the design firm Perkins+Will, the founders of the New Orleans Habitat Musicians’ Village, and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon.

EmPower’s CEO David Schieren, an alumnus of the Solar Decathlon, was interviewed for a video the NBM created for the award.  You can watch the inspiring video below (David first appears at 07:40).  Cristina Zancani, David’s wife, also appears in the video:

2010 Honor Award: A Salute to Civic Innovators from National Building Museum on Vimeo.