Technical Article
Mayfield Renewables Opens Registration for 2026 Education Summit
Mayfield Renewables kicks off registration for the annual Education Summit, bridging critical knowledge gaps in solar, energy storage, and microgrid deployment. Learn about evolving codes, standards, products, and implementation best practices from industry experts.
We’re excited to announce the third-annual Mayfield Renewables Education Summit! Following the success of our previous events in Austin and Seattle, we’re taking the 2026 summit to the “Windy City” this fall. On September 29th and 30th, our team will deliver sixteen workshops on commercial solar-plus-storage and microgrid topics at the David Rubenstein Forum on the University of Chicago’s south campus.
What makes the Mayfield Education Summit unique amongst a growing pool of industry events is our focus on keeping things independent, technical, and actionable. The curriculum is designed based on our experience as independent engineers, addressing the most pressing challenges across our projects every year. All sessions are led by Mayfield’s engineers and engineering consultants, with some guest co-trainers in topics where we determined external SME’s were critical.
The sessions are intended for technical professionals who are involved in commercial projects: developers, EPCs, manufacturers, AHJs, and utilities. A base knowledge of codes and standards or commercial project development is recommended. Attendees will leave with a better understanding of how projects are planned, designed, implemented, and maintained.
Filling a Critical Industry Gap
Battery-based, multi-DER systems are in more demand than ever before. Integrating multiple DERs opens the door to many economic and performance benefits, but also adds complexity to every stage of development. And with added complexity comes added risk. This is particularly true at the commercial scale, where every cent and every kilowatt-hour matters.
Despite project complexity, demand for renewable energy has never been higher. Electricity costs and demands are rising, grid stability is vulnerable, so distributed renewable energy deployment is accelerating. Industry professionals have an opportunity to meet the growing energy needs of the commercial market, but face a significant challenge navigating the evolving requirements and best practices for successful implementation.
“The summit is designed to address a significant and often undervalued gap in the industry, the need for more technical education. The Education Summit is one of the few industry gatherings focused exclusively on technical education, and the only one focused on the more complex C&I projects. It is a highly intentional event, teaching current requirements and their intent, sharing lessons from the most common questions we have in our engineering work, and providing a roadmap to overcome the challenges of complex real-world projects.” - Laurel Hamilton, Head of Growth
Why attend the Education Summit?
Attendees will gain direct access to subject matter experts (SMEs) who work on complex projects every day. The trainers at the Education Summit are also the engineers and consultants who work on hundreds of projects each year—they understand where common pitfalls are, how to mitigate risks, and how to optimize systems for successful deployment and long-term performance through personal experience.
A few sessions will also outline the Mayfield Standard: a roadmap for successful multi-DER project development from our independent engineering perspective.
Key themes covered will include:
“Industry is advancing at a rapid pace, and code is trying to keep up with industry, so it's a constant cycle. Investing in education and learning how these systems work, how they go together, what the codes and standards are that apply, and how to advocate to improve the requirements. Bringing that all together is important.” - Ryan Mayfield, Founder & Chief Engineer
Another key benefit of the experience is the opportunity to engage with industry partners. Mayfield carefully selects partners that offer high-quality products and service solutions for the commercial solar and energy storage market to participate. These subject matter experts will be available throughout the shared networking space, creating opportunities for attendees to connect and learn more between sessions. The overall experience is intentionally designed to encourage meaningful networking and peer learning beyond the classroom through dedicated breaks, shared meals, and an elevated reception on the first evening.
What qualifies us to hold an event like this?
It may come as a surprise that an engineering consultancy spends so much effort on education. So why do we do it? And what qualifies us to teach the industry?
As an engineering firm that regularly guides complex solar, storage, and multi-DER microgrid projects through feasibility planning and full design, our team solves problems and challenges with integration, interconnection, and engineering on a daily basis. Our experts know the most relevant and most up-to-date codes and standards and how to apply them. We are setting the standard for system design, safety compliance, and longevity.
At the heart of our work is a commitment to making expertise accessible. That mission has been embedded in the company since day one. Our founder, Ryan Mayfield, is a passionate educator who has spent decades helping advance the industry by demystifying codes and standards.
By delivering education and sharing knowledge, we believe everyone benefits. As Senior Consulting Engineer, Lucas Miller says: “A rising tide raises all boats. A more knowledgeable industry will produce higher quality systems more efficiently, increasing demand and reducing costs for all stakeholders.”
Ultimately, we’re working to ensure that everyone in the industry is equipped to develop safe and robust systems for a resilient energy future. The Education Summit is a big part of that commitment in a format that brings our community together for live learning and networking.
Registration and Next Steps
We will provide more information about the Education Summit regularly from now until September. You can find more about the speaker lineup, the full course agenda, and registration deadlines on the event page. Keep an eye on our socials and our website for updates and registration announcements. And register early, as space is limited!
If you are planning on bringing four or more people from your team to the Education Summit, please contact us to learn how to get a discount and be highlighted as a valued partner. We want to support teams that are also committed to learning!
Interested in partnering with us? To learn more about the partner opportunities or any event inquiries, contact Laurel Hamilton, Head of Growth at Mayfield Renewables.
And if you like the idea of the Summit but know that you won’t be able to attend, you can still benefit from our education and training by taking a self-paced online course or hiring us to do a live training for your group.
REGISTER HERE TODAY!Mayfield Renewables provides design and engineering consulting services for solar-plus-storage systems in the mid-market scale across the United States. Contact us today for a consultation.
