Jon Starbuck’s CV / Résumé
Person summary:
Hands on practical renewable energy engineer and technical author. Ten years of wind, solar PV, solar thermal, hydro and bio-fuels knowledge. A broad range of transferable skills and experiences, both in and out of the renewables sector.
Education:
Currently studying for an engineering master’s degree in Renewable Energy Systems Technology (CREST) at Loughborough University by distance learning.
I hold a BSc in Physics from the University of Kent at Canterbury, England – August 2000.
Work History:
Numerous charities and not-for-profits San Francisco, 2011 to February 2012.
Various voluntary positions for San Francisco based charities and not-for-profits such as the SF Bicycle Coalition, Greenpeace, Rainforest Action Network, Rocket Dog and Black Rock Solar.
Post-Installation Solar PV Technician Sungevity, California 2010 – 2011.
Technical support for installers and customers by telephone, email and in person. On site fault finding of inverters, monitoring and computer networks. General customer service. Remote performance analysis and fault finding, particularly on Kaco inverters using Locus monitoring, but also Fronious and SMA inverters and numerous other remote monitoring solutions. Very high level of technical ability and knowledge of PV systems and regulations in the USA. I was also involved in developing systems and selecting new equipment and technology for this very rapidly expanding, multimillion-dollar-turnover, California solar start-up.
Rolling Sunlight Warped Tour Crew Leader Greenpeace (USA), Summer 2009.
Providing solar PV generated power for a section of a touring rock festival while interacting and educating the public on the subject renewable energy and advocating for climate legislation. As crew leader I was responsible for monitoring and maintaining and repairing the system to ensure that power was always available as well as overseeing a small team doing the public outreach and driving between events.
Solar PV testing and installation (freelance) Perpetual Energy (UK), 2008/09.
Building, testing and commissioning of monitoring systems for experimental 240kw multiple technology PV systems on four of IKEA’s outlets at three sites in Europe and one in the USA; working for Perpetual Energy. Systems worked on include bespoke monitoring for the AC and DC sides as well as using SMA Sunnyboy inverter’s built in Sunny Webbox monitoring.
Renewable Energy Engineer. Freelance (UK and USA) 2005 to present day.
Work primarily in the installation of stand-alone and grid-connected solar, wind, hydro and biofuels systems in both Europe and the USA while studying part time on the CREST MSc. Work included:
- Assisting with the installation of solar-thermal systems.
- Assisting with the installation of stand-alone and grid connected domestic solar PV systems.
- Assisting with the erection of 60m and 70m met-masts, weather monitoring and data collection masts.
- Assisting in the installation of small hydro-electric systems.
Technical Author
I am a respected specialist in the home made biofuels community having designed and built site-specific biodiesel reactors, taught on biofuels courses in the UK, and having published Run Your Diesel Vehicle On Biofuels (McGraw Hill, 2008), widely regarded as the definitive manual for DIY biodiesel production and vegetable oil conversion.
Marquee Rigger. Roustabout Summer 2005 and 2006
Working as part of a team erecting large free-standing structures, tents and marquees, at corporate events and music festivals in Europe. Hard manual work, long hours, driving and working away from home for extended periods.
Web developer (freelance). Tincan LTD April 2005 – April 2006
Design and construction of websites for charities and non-profits using PHP and CSS.
Technical Event Co-ordinator. Centre for Alternative Technology 2001 – 2005
Responsible for coordination of public courses, conferences and events at CAT.