PV Installer Certified Program/Please Read [RE-wrenches]

[Bill Brooks]

Sorry Gator Tom,

The political arm wrestling going on by the manufactures is not going to
stop this process. It is already law in Oregon and is being worked on to
fulfill a law in California. I don't think this certification process will
affect many wrenches in the short run since only a few of them work with
on-grid systems.

The first certification processes will be setup for on-grid programs as one
measure of quality control. In California where we have a total of 2000
on-grid systems in the CEC program alone, this is a major issue. In the last
year, the number of contractors and dealers on the CEC list has gone from 50
to about 300 with all differing experience and competence, and no way to
tell who's who (other than references).

Bill.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Tom Lane [mailto:tom at ecs-solar.com]
> Sent: Saturday, December 22, 2001 1:37 PM
> To: RE-wrenches at topica.com
> Subject: Re: PV Installer Certified Program/Please Read [RE-wrenches]
>
>
> the PV INSTALLERS certified  PROGRAMi is dead IT HAS BEEN CANCELED do tq
> oppisition from the collector manfactures  Gator T O M
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Allan Sindelar" <allan at positiveenergysolar.com>
> To: <RE-wrenches at topica.com>
> Sent: Friday, December 21, 2001 9:03 PM
> Subject: Re: PV Installer Certified Program/Please Read [RE-wrenches]
>
>
> > Fellow Wrenches,
> >     I asked the contact person for the PV installer certification effort
> > that has been discussed in the last couple of weeks to prepare "...an
> > introductory piece explaining the purpose, history, justification,
> benefits,
> > costs, committee makeup, etc. of the
> > national certification effort..." to get out to our forum ASAP.
> >     Her response follows. Please save this until after the
> holiday break,
> > read it carefully, and then let's contribute our input to this.
> This needs
> > our support behind it to make it happen, and as you will read, with our
> > input it will be of great benefit to us as independent installers.
> >     Thank you.
> > Allan at Positive Energy
> >
> > December 21, 2001
> >
> > Dear Wrenches:
> >
> > Until the North American Board of Certified Energy
> Practitioners (NABCEP)
> > released its Proposed Certification Requirements two weeks ago, most of
> you
> > had likely never heard of the organization or its efforts.  NABCEP is a
> > small nonprofit in the preliminary stages of developing (hopefully) PV
> > practitioner certification, and we haven't done much "marketing," beyond
> > conference presentations, workshops, magazine articles, and
> word of mouth.
> > This is a summary of who and what NABCEP is, and why we are
> working toward
> > PV certification.
> >
> > Mark Fitzgerald, of the Institute for Sustainable Power (some of you may
> > know him), has been involved in the solar field for more than 20
> > years--mostly the information and education side.  The idea for PV
> > practitioner certification and training program accreditation
> was sparked
> at
> > a Rockefeller Foundation meeting on renewable energy that took place in
> > October 1995.  At that meeting, an official from the
> international finance
> > and insurance industry indicated that he would be interested in
> funding PV
> > installations in developing countries, but could not do so without some
> > industry-acknowledged credential indicating that the installing
> practitioner
> > was qualified to perform the work. Without a third-party credential, he
> > could not justify loaning money to PV projects because improper
> installation
> > and maintenance work was leading to a high system failure rate,
> essentially
> > a waste of funding efforts.
> >
> > This led Mark to found the Institute for Sustainable Power,
> Inc. (ISP) to
> > work on the development of international quality standards for the
> > certification of PV practitioners.
> >
> > Mark worked with PV industry stakeholders to develop ISP as a global
> > framework.  ISP is working with solar stakeholders to help develop the
> > practitioner standards and will accredit training organizations (FSEC
> become
> > the 1st accredited org in the U.S. this past summer).  Each
> participating
> > country will develop its own administration and specifications for a
> > national certification program.  National organizations will consist of
> > representatives chosen by relevant stakeholders within the country.
> >
> > So "NABCEP"--the North American Board of Certified Energy
> Practitioners--is
> > the national organization for the U.S. and possibly Canada.  Mark began
> work
> > to form NABCEP in 2000 as U.S. efforts to study and implement
> practitioner
> > certification systems began to heat up.  Mark polled stakeholders and
> > subject matter experts in the U.S. to identify potential board
> members and
> > Technical committee members.
> >
> > FSEC was an early key player, especially as they were already working on
> > training and testing for Florida PV installers. In addition, Jim Dunlop,
> > Bill Brooks, and others had been working on developing and validating a
> Task
> > Analysis for PV Installers since 1998.  A committee of 11 PV experts
> > assembled, including Mark McCray, Bill Brooks, John Wiles, and others.
> > These people are volunteering their time (!) to help establish
> the skills
> > and knowledge requirements for competent PV installation.
> >
> > In April 2001the interested stakeholder representatives came
> together for
> > the first time as a provisional national board.  The volunteers used two
> > guides in identifying other necessary representatives on the board: 1)
> > Identify key stakeholder groups not already participating, especially
> those
> > affected by certification and those with important input into the
> > certification process; 2) Identify the appropriate individuals to
> represent
> > the key stakeholder groups.
> >
> > Since their first meeting in April 2001, the NABCEP Board has grown to
> > include thirteen members and five alternates from those representing
> > installers (Les Nelson and Don Loweburg), industry (SEIA, Xantrex),
> training
> > and education (NJATC, community colleges), government agencies (Sandia,
> > NREL, DOE), labor (IBEW, NECA), and states (IREC).  The goal is
> consensus
> > and broad stakeholder input.  This method should create a certification
> that
> > is a valid quality designation--while avoiding becoming subject to one
> > special interest (like individual manufacturers or the government).
> >
> > FSEC continues to be involved, currently working to develop a prototype
> > exam.  Meanwhile, the Tech Committee began the process of developing the
> > certification requirements (which have been posted to this List for
> comment)
> > and the board, after MUCH disagreement and argument, finally
> approved the
> > current version for release for public comment.  We released
> this version
> in
> > the hope of getting stakeholder comment to guide us in
> developing the next
> > version.  We knew that different stakeholder groups might have
> very strong
> > feelings about the rigor of the experience and training
> prerequisites--and
> > we are VERY interested in hearing those comments. We need to hear from
> > current installers more than anyone else to know whether these draft
> > requirements are reasonable or not.
> >
> > What are NABCEP's Goals?
> > NABCEP has three goals.  First, certification is a way to protect the
> > consumer.  Even if the PV hardware is fabulous, faulty installation
> creates
> > ineffective or dangerous systems.  Consumers--in any field--deserve
> quality
> > work.  When safety is at stake, quality work becomes an imperative.
> >
> > Second, certification is a way to promote the renewable energy industry.
> PV
> > will not become a widespread, successful application in U.S.
> until systems
> > are dependably installed, and are reliable and safe. Each time a system
> > fails, or even just fails to live up to consumer expectations, that is a
> > black mark for the industry that will impede its growth.  To wit: solar
> > thermal in the 1970s and 80s.
> >
> > Third, certification should provide value to practitioners.
> This happens
> as
> > the PV market expands through consumer awareness and satisfaction.  It
> also
> > happens when experienced, skilled practitioners are able to set
> themselves
> > apart from the unqualified competition by displaying their certification
> > credential.
> >
> > NABCEP will need to charge an application fee and a testing fee to cover
> the
> > costs of providing the certification.  We have not set our fees, but we
> will
> > be reasonable in setting them.  We understand that if this VOLUNTARY
> > certification costs too much, even the potential benefits of
> certification
> > will not overcome the cost barrier.  We do not expect to break even on
> > administrative costs until after a few years of providing
> certification--and
> > that may be optimistic.
> >
> > Another reason why this certification is being developed is to provide
> those
> > states that are beginning to develop PV licensing requirements with a
> > national standard on which to build.  As Larry Elliott pointed out on
> 12/21
> > on the Wrenches list, an electrician's license is not necessarily a
> > predictor of quality electrical work.  If states develop piecemeal PV
> > licensing requirements, those licenses might be no more valid than an
> > electrician's license sometimes seems to be.  A national,
> industry-developed
> > voluntary certification program with carefully developed standards,
> > supported by a validated Task Analysis, will provide a
> wonderful starting
> > point for state licensing programs.  In addition, nationally developed
> > standards mean that the certificate would be portable, that
> there is less
> > bureaucracy in going from state to state.  State-by-state development of
> PV
> > licenses could be a messy prospect.
> >
> > What's Next?
> > NABCEP originally wanted to get its PV installer certification
> program up
> > and running by June 2002.  We are currently facing some fairly difficult
> > challenges in this effort.  However, we plan to move forward.  This
> includes
> > collecting comments from subject matter experts on the task
> analysis to be
> > incorporated into a final document.  The certification process will be
> > refined based on the stakeholder comments we receive. The exam will be
> > developed and validated and a passing score will be set. Finally, an
> > administrative organization will be contracted to run the certification
> > program, in an effort to keep costs to a minimum.  When these tasks have
> > been accomplished, NABCEP will be ready to begin certifying PV
> installers.
> >
> > How to Contact NABCEP
> > Information about NABCEP is available on the Web at: www.nabcep.org.
> >
> > NABCEP administrative support is currently provided by Wendy
> Parker of the
> > Institute for Sustainable Power (ISP).  She can be reached at (720)
> 344-0341
> > or wparker at nabcep.org
> >
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