5 Best Solar Energy careers for newbies

​As we all know that fossil fuels are limited and will exhaust in near future, the need for alternative clean energy is always there and Solar power is one of the feasible options because its energy is available at free of cost and is also pollution free.

​Here in this post, I will discuss the 5 solar energy careers options which are scalable and requires less investment.

1. Solar Power Installation

​If you are a person who likes playing dirty with electrical hardware then the solar power installation is a line for you. This business is scalable and requires less investment. First, you should have technical knowledge about the working of the overall system. For your information, a basic solar power system consists of the following main components:

• Solar Panels
• Inverter
• Battery
• Solar charge controller
• And connecting wires

A team of at least 3-4 people along with the basic electrical kit can do wonders in this field. Try tapping that area where the grid supply is costly and irregular.  Assess the energy need of the people in that area and offer the best possible solar solution to them.
This business starts with assessing the energy requirements of the interested people and then designing the system according to it.
Even if you know nothing about installation, you can still collect leads and pass on to the good solar companies. Accompany with their team and learn the installation process. Learn the functioning, working, and testing of the various equipment on the site itself.

• Do your homework and inquire about the good solar panels, inverter, solar batteries available in the market.
• Meet with companies and make an understanding of offering solar panels in short notice and at a lower price than the market as this will help you in growing your installation business.
• Go to public places like schools, colleges, hospitals, clubs near your place, talk in the petrol pumps. As a newbie, you can also go door to door marketing.
• Decide the good name of your company, a free website can expand your reach.
• The other means to market yourself is the use of flyers. You can design good flyers using canva again a free website.
• Keep talking to people around you and telling them the benefits of solar energy over fossil fuels or the grid supply. Motivate them to save nature by adopting solar energy. 

2. Solar system servicing

With so many solar installations are going around you, maintenance of these systems will be a huge market after a few years. A new and separate vertical of servicing & maintaining the already installed solar system will be required to cater to this growing need.

Go and meet people who already have installed the systems at their rooftop. Inform them of the importance of system maintenance in improving the efficiency and the life of the system. As a newbie entrepreneur, this would be a good option for you as it requires minimal investment like:

• Cleaning equipment, ladder etc to climb and clean the panels
• Basic electrical kit including a multi-meter and tester to check the working of the system

At least a team of three people is required to serve better and provide timely service. You can offer a 5-year comprehensive maintenance package to the solar owners at a competitive price including the following services:
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• Regular cleaning of the panels
• Checking the output of the system
• Checking and refilling the water level in the batteries
• Advising right solution like the addition of extra panels if demand increases in future
• Ways to save energy by replacing outdated appliances with efficient ones
• Help in choosing the best solar installer if they plan to increase the size in future

3. Solar Research

Many companies and investors are interested in investing in the solar sector if they are provided with the right information and the facts. You can explore this opportunity if you have an inclination towards research.

Start with choosing a particular vertical like solar photovoltaic or solar thermal etc. And within that vertical choose a topic of interest, it could anything like:

• The solar potential of India
• The growth of solar photovoltaics in the last 15 years
• Top 10 solar companies in India and their growth potential
• Top solar states to invest

Your research must be supported and authenticated by the facts and the right figures.
Your next tasks would be to do internet research and look for the companies and the investors who can buy your report.

As you are a newbie, therefore, the investors would be skeptical about the authenticity of your report. Keep a sample ready with you and e-mail them if required. With constant follow-ups, you can sell your first report and with this, your entrepreneurial journey starts.

Do keep in mind to take the feedback of your work and showcase the positive feedback for your future customers. Again, showcasing your work on the website would be a very good option as it can reach the investors worldwide.

You can also gather this information and offer to your customers in the form of an e-book.
This field of solar research requires constant knowledge updating and extensive reading about the development in this sector. Well, in terms of investment it requires a laptop and the internet connection with lots of time.

Many times, you need to talk and personally meet the people of this industry to validate the information available on the internet. 

Pricing of your solar reports is again a task. If your research is capable of bringing an investment of say 10 million dollars in this sector then pricing it a few thousand dollars would not be an issue. Well, it depends on other factors like:

• Type of information general or specific; Specific being costlier
• Time taken to complete the report
• Amount of facts and figures
• Number of pages

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Once you establish your credibility in the solar research sector, your brand value will increase and you will start getting inquiries.

Platform for solar installers and Buyers

Again, this career option requires minimal investment. You can create a platform like a website in which you highlight experienced and trusted solar installers capable of providing quality services to the customers.

To start with, collect the details of the solar installers like:

• Experience in the solar installation
• Team members
• Amount of installations done till date
• Brand of panels used by them
• Area of operation
• Tentative cost of solar installation
• Customers reviews

Select at least 10 top solar installers and keep this information updated in your website.
Simultaneously, start looking for customers who are interested in solar installations. Inform them that you have a list of trusted solar installers which can provide the quality services.

Know the requirements of the customers by designing a simple questionnaire like:

• Address
• Monthly electricity bill
• Size of the solar panels they are looking for
• Brand of panels they want
• Tentative time for going solar

The more questions you ask, the better lead you will get for the trusted solar installers.
Inform the listed installers in your website that you have a qualified lead with good chances of conversion. Ask for some fee in return. This way you are acting as a platform between the customers and the solar installers.
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You need to very responsive in this kind of business otherwise the customer may lose interest in your proposal. 

5. Start a solar blog

​There is nothing like start writing about solar in your college days. Read books or collect information about solar and start writing in your style to let the readers know your point of view on solar.

There are many free sites in which you can start the blog and can start writing in no time.
The interested people will start visiting your blog and the traffic will increase with time. The are many ways of monetizing the blog and some of them are:

• Google Adsense
• ShareAsale
• Commission junction

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You can even write the e-book, set a price and publish in your blog. The e-book can be sold using free payment junctions like Instamojo for Indians and Gumroad for international readers.
Again, this business model requires very less investment. You can start with free website or blog but with time when you grow, purchase the domain name to establish your own brand.

Conclusion

​I received queries from my readers to discuss the probable solar energy careers with required less investment. The above-mentioned careers are one of them. The mental block that entrepreneurship in solar requires heavy investment is a wrong perception.

​There are many ways as you have seen above through which you can kick start your solar energy career with minimum investment and in less time.

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