O&M Solar with Arch General Manager Michael Schwarz

At Intersolar San Diego, Sean White meets Michael Schwarz, General Manager for growth at Arch O&M, about operations and maintenance for solar projects. Schwarz describes O&M as the “service shop” for PV systems, with days driven by shifting schedules, customer and technician calls, and occasional field work. Arch focuses mainly on commercial/industrial and ground-mount systems roughly 400 kW to 20 MW, with maintenance needs increasing around years 7–9. They handle preventive work such as IV curve testing (often with Fluke), drone flights, insulation resistance (“megger”) testing, and troubleshooting, and they increasingly specialize in wind and storm damage remediation. They discuss challenges of sourcing matching replacement modules for older arrays, Arch’s emphasis on training and growing talent, NABCEP’s PV Commissioning and Maintenance Specialist certification and upcoming O&M associate credential, and the NABCEP conference in Milwaukee.   Topics Covered: O&M = Operations and Maintenance CapEx = Capital Expenditure OpEx = Operational Expenditure PV Maintenance           NABCEP PVCMS Certification NABCEP Conference Milwaukee, Wisconsin Harley Davidson Museum Electric cruiser bike Electric adventure bike IV curve testing Insulation resistance training Megometer Arch O&M training programs OMAT = O&M Associate Technician   Reach out to Michael Schwarz here: LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/michael-schwarz-ms-lod-lean123 Website: www.archsolar.com   Learn more at www.solarSEAN.com and be sure to get NABCEP certified by taking Sean’s classes at: www.heatspring.com/sean www.solarsean.com/pvcms