The Energy Academy publishes free, self-paced courses covering the full lifecycle of a renewable energy project. Every course is built by people who have done the work. There is one foundation course for each discipline — start wherever your job sits, or work through them in project order.
Foundation courses
Solar Development 101
Concept to construction-ready — milestones, site control, interconnection risk, diligence and permitting. 51 lessons. Part of the Development track.
Solar Engineering 101
How a site becomes a buildable, code-compliant design — plan sets, equipment selection, QA/QC and constructability. 22 lessons. Part of the Engineering track.
Solar Construction 101
From “ready for construction” to an energized system — sequence, cost control, quality and closeout. 24 lessons. Part of the Construction track.
Project Finance 101
How projects get paid for — the capital stack, financial models, returns and the path to financial close. 28 lessons. Part of the Finance track.
Solar Legal 101
The agreements that govern a project, written for non-lawyers — risk allocation, key terms and red flags. 26 lessons. Part of the Legal track.
Origination 101
Finding and securing opportunities — qualifying prospects, reading a bill, PPA essentials and handoff. 28 lessons. Part of the Origination track.
Energy Markets 101
How electricity markets work and how solar earns money in them — pricing, capacity, RECs and regional differences. 38 lessons. Part of the Energy Markets track.
Asset Management 101
Keeping an operating asset performing for 25 years — O&M oversight, monitoring, warranties and reporting. 35 lessons. Part of the Asset Management track.
Beyond the foundations
Each discipline has deeper courses behind its foundation course — Power Purchase Agreements, Site Control, the EPC Agreement, Solar Construction Budgets and Schedules, O&M Agreements, and six role-based Career Path tracks. All of them are free once you have an account.
Every course is free. Create an account to start.