Solar Training and Education

Training and education is being approached from a variety of angles, with many different partners, and with several target groups. Installer training has been a top priority for NYSERDA, with certification by the North American Board of Certification for Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) being the crown jewel for installers. NYSERDA has provided financial support for NABCEP, while subsidizing training costs to help installers obtain certification.

Working with the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) and Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC), NYSERDA has helped train 35 installers in an accredited, hands-on, one-week PV design and installation course. In addition, SUNY Farmingdale has provided hands-on training to hundreds of potential installers through its Solar Energy Center.

NYSERDA has also sponsored study assistance to 70 installers preparing to take the NABCEP exam, including an on-line refresher course for students taking the test. Twenty-eight participants from 16 states took the first on-line course. As of November 2004, twenty New York State installers have been certified by NABCEP and another dozen or so are planning to take the NABCEP exam this year.

To further assist certified installers, NYSERDA, NABCEP, and IREC developed media kits and public relations tools to help certified installers differentiate themselves from other, non-certified installers.

NYSERDA has also held five introductory PV workshops across the state for builders, contractors, realtors, and bankers to teach them about PV systems, the costs and benefits of owning a PV system, the impact of a PV system's value on the cost of a home, and opportunities for builders and realtors to differentiate themselves through gaining experience building and selling energy-efficient homes with PV systems.

These PV workshops were developed by IREC and others, and were combined with a training session on New York ENERGY STAR ® -Labeled Homes. Continuing education credits were provided for the workshops

Nationally Accredited Training

Priority is given to training provided by institutions that are accredited by the Institute for Sustainable Power (ISP). Accreditation is a voluntary, non-governmental process that measures an educational institution or program against certain defined standards or criteria. Accreditation serves to notify prospective students that a program has met standards. The Institute for Sustainable Power (ISP) is a non-profit organization working with the PV industry, government organizations, user groups, and the financial and development communities to build a global training accreditation and certification program for PV systems design, installation, and maintenance practitioners. NYSERDA has provided funding to IREC to become the North American Licensee for ISP's accreditation and certification programs. NYSERDA is also providing funding to New York technical schools, colleges, and continuing education programs develop and implement nationally accredited training programs and facilities to train as photovoltaic (PV) installers. Funding is being provided for accreditation at three levels: instructors, training organizations or institutions, and continuing education providers.

Partnering with the U.S. Department of Energy through a grant from the Million Solar Roof (MSR) Partnership, NYSERDA worked closely with the New York State Solar Energy Industry Association to assist SUNY Farmingdale in achieving ISP accreditation for its PV training program. SUNY Farmingdale was the first ISP- accredited program in the Northeast and the fourth in the U.S.

Under this same MSR Grant, Dr. Gay Canough became the second ISP-certified Master Trainer nationwide. A master trainer can provide PV installer training at any location and can also train others to become PV trainers.

In 2005, SUNY Delhi became the second ISP-accredited program in the New York State and the Northeast through a grant from NYSERDA.

To date, NYSERDA has invested nearly $1,000,000 in developing eight additional accredited training centers and continuing education programs across the state, partnering with SUNY Delhi, the Ulster County Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), and Cattaraugus-Allegany BOCES.

More information about the status of training and certification (republished courtesy of SOLAR TODAY)

New York's Solar Electric Practitioner Training Centers

While these programs are gearing up, NYSERDA (in partnership with IREC, FSEC, Solar Design Associates, ImaginIT, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and Southwest Technology Development Institute) held 18 training sessions, reaching about 400 PV students, at more than a dozen different locations across the state. Architects, builders, installers, contractors, electricians, utility staff, and inspectors have participated in training on topics ranging from building-integrated PV design, to PV for inspectors, to OSHA safety.

Article on Training the Green-Collar Workforce

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