Co-Sponsors: The Solar Store, UniSource Energy Services, and Tucson Electric Power

Installation Sponsor: Southwest Solar

Classroom Location:
Parkwise
110 E. Pennington Street
Suite 150, Room 112
Tucson, AZ

Limited scholarships will be available based on need for customers of Tucson Electric Power (TEP) or UniSource Energy (UES). Call SEI’s Carbondale office (970-963-8855) for more information.
 
Tucson is a great place to visit in the winter. Tucson’s Convention and Visitors Center website has a lot of great information about the city. Also, don’t miss the incredibly popular 54th Annual Tucson Gem and Mineral Show from February 2-14, 2008. For more information, please see their website.

Class Details: Class will run from approximately 9:00 am to 5:00 pm (or 5:30 pm) Monday through Saturday. Please plan to arrive at the classroom no later than 8:45 on Monday so that the instructors can check you into the workshop. Lunch will be from approximately 12:00-1:00 pm each day, in addition to a short morning and afternoon break.
 
As part of the PV Design and Installation workshop, there will be a hands-on installation. The instructors will provide more details on the first day of the class, as well as directions to the jobsite. The installation will be on Thursday and Friday, and Saturday will be a wrap-up day. (This may change depending on the weather.) In addition, there will be several tours of local PV systems during the workshop.

Transportation and Travel:

Closest Airports: Tucson International Airport (TUS)—19 miles from the classroom.

Rental Cars:  For a list of rental car agencies from the airport, please click on the following link:
Tucson Rental Car Agencies

Bus Stations: There is a Greyhound Station at 471 W. Congress Street in Tucson, which is approximately 10 miles from the classroom.

Train Stations: There is also an Amtrak Station at 400 E. Toole Ave, which is approximately 10 miles from the classroom.

Nearby Lodging: The Dancing Rocks Permaculture Community, which is just 4 bikeable miles from the classroom, is offering affordable housing for workshop particiants. A limited number of camping spots and rooms are available. For more information, please call Barbara Rose at 520-572-7221.

There are plenty of hotels close to the classroom site. Click here for a complete list of hotels in Tucson. Please call them directly for more information on the cost and condition of the hotels. Make sure to mention that you will be there for several days in order to get extended stay discounts.

Food: There are plenty of restaurants within two miles of the classroom for lunch. For a list of restaurants in the immediate area, please click here.

Weather: The weather in Tucson in February should be in the 60s or 70s during the day and then drop into the 30s or 40s at night. For a more detailed look at the weather, go to weather.com.

What to Bring:

Classroom: Please bring a pen and pencil and paper for notetaking and a calculator. You may want to bring black, red and green colored pencils for schematics.

Install: Since we will be doing an install at an actual jobsite, close-toed shoes with good tread are required. We recommend that you bring a hat, raingear, sunscreen and a water bottle, in addition to layers of work clothes to account for changing weather temperatures. We encourage you to bring your own tools, but it is not necessary. Tools could include: wire strippers, sidecutters, tape measure, screw driver, needle-nose pliers, pencil, utility knife, and a cordless drill. Please label tools with your name or some distinguishing mark ahead of time to ensure that you get your tools back at the end of class