Financing and Deploying Clean Energy Certificate Program
Platform and Technical Requirements
We have outlined the recommended technical requirements for the best course experience. Please adhere to them for optimal interactivity with the program.
Platforms
This program will use Canvas to deliver all course materials. Note that we do not recommend the use of the Canvas app. The Canvas site is best experienced using a laptop or desktop computer. Access to the Canvas platform will be granted immediately prior to the start of the program.
We use Zoom to conduct live sessions and office hours. To prepare for the program, you can:
- Download the free Zoom Desktop Client software ahead of time at zoom.us;
- Sign-up for a free zoom account using the email address that you used during the application process;
- Test your camera, speakers, and microphone on the system that you plan on using to join live sessions on Thursdays by joining a test meeting here; and
- Use this overview document to familiarize yourself with Zoom.
Devices
You should plan on accessing the material and doing your homework on a laptop or desktop computer. This program requires extensive use of Microsoft Word and Excel, and while tablets or mobile devices are adequate to view the content on Canvas or participate in live sessions, tablets or mobile devices are not sufficient to write policy memos or develop financial models.
Please ensure that your desktop or laptop is equipped with the following:
- Internal or external camera
- Internal or external speakers
- Internal or external microphone
Your device must be running one of the following operating systems:
- Microsoft (Windows 7 and newer)
- Mac/Apple (Mac OS X 10.6 and newer)
Note that while Linux-based operating systems are adequate for most activities during the Certificate, they do not support the full functionalities of Microsoft Excel such as What-If Analysis. The Renewable Energy Project Finance course will require you have access to a fully functioning version of Excel. We do not recommend you use a Linux-based system during this program.
Computer Speed and Processor
It is recommended that you use a computer 5 years old or newer when possible with at least:
- 4GB of RAM
- 2GHz processor
Applications or Software
You will need Microsoft Excel and Word installed on your device in order to complete the program.
Internet
Optimal connection speed is a minimum speed of 600kbps. Please use this link to check the Internet speed from your location.
The learning management system is best experienced on current and first previous major releases of the following browsers:
- Chrome 64 and 65
- Firefox 58 and 59 (Extended Releases are not supported)
Screen Readers
PC: NVDA (latest version for Firefox)
Please note: there is no screen reader support for the learning management system in Chrome at this time.
Please click on the following links to access the course materials using a mobile device like iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch) or Android (Tablet, Smartphone).