It may sound obvious, but vocational training should reflect the industry it prepares you for. Doing so requires real knowledge and commitment — knowing what is actually happening in the industry and having the ability to act on it. Courses age, content needs refreshing, and technology shifts. At SEI, keeping pace with solar is not just a nice thought. It is an ongoing responsibility, and one we take seriously and invest in year after year.

Why the Update?

We last updated PVOL101 in 2023, and a lot has changed since then. The solar industry has expanded significantly in scale and complexity. Residential rooftop systems are no longer the whole story, as commercial, industrial, and utility-scale applications now represent a major share of the market and offer a broad range of career opportunities.

That expansion has also brought a wider range of learners, career paths, and market sectors into the fold. Some are coming to solar for the first time. Others are building foundational knowledge to support a team or pursue NABCEP certification. PVOL101 now better serves all of them.

What’s Changed

The course has been restructured and includes significant updates across 10 core lessons. Every updated lesson reflects current industry standards and incorporates real-world examples throughout. Core lessons updated include:

• Energy and PV production
• Meter testing
• Series and parallel circuits
• Site analysis
• Grounding and bonding
• Inverters
• PV system sizing
• Conductors and wiring
• Disconnects and overcurrent protection
• Safe practices and commissioning

Beyond the content itself, the learning experience has been redesigned. Lessons have been broken into shorter, more digestible segments. New interactive practice exercises and quiz banks have been added throughout, giving learners more opportunities to test their knowledge and build confidence before moving forward. Graphics, animations, and design examples have all been refreshed.

One thing we want to be direct about: this content was produced by real people, not AI bots scouring the internet. The instruction throughout PVOL101 comes directly from SEI’s experienced solar professionals who record, review, and stand behind everything in the course. Their knowledge is then packaged by our team of instructional designers to create the most engaging learning experience possible, leveraging technology to enhance the online learning environment.

What it Means for You

If you are starting your solar education, the current iteration of PVOL101 gives you the most current and engaging foundational training available, built around the industry as it exists today. If you are an employer onboarding new team members or strengthening your existing crew’s fundamentals, this is where that process starts.

The updated course is available starting May 18th, 2026. Watch the overview video to see what’s changed and enroll today. As solar keeps evolving, so will this course.