NABCEP [RE-wrenches]

Bill Brooks billb at endecon.com
Sat Dec 21 13:47:27 PST 2002


Smitty,

You may not like my response, but read it and we can finish the discussion
off list if you want to pursue it. I prefer folks that ask questions to
learn and adjust their opinions based on new information. These questions
appear to be leading and an attempt to cause dissention rather than
contributing to a better understanding of the situation.

NABCEP has no official relationships with anyone at the time. They have some
small contracts with USDOE, NYSERDA, and possibly a few others--I'm sure you
could find out if you like. NABCEP is a board of directors and committees as
I stated. ISP was certainly the catalyst in getting the idea of NABCEP off
the ground.

ISP, as you very well know, is Mark Fitzgerald. I have known Mark for about
four years now. I was very skeptical of the some of the ideas about a
certification process, but I did my homework and came to the realization
that it was a good thing for some markets in PV--particularly California.
Since I have been the most active trainer in California related to the CEC
Buydown program, I agreed to serve on his board as the North American
representative--that was about three years ago.

I have come to respect Mark and his tireless work on this subject in the
face of little or no funding. About two years ago he was diagnosed with
cancer--and yet he continued to work tirelessly in the face of huge
opposition. I can vouch from my personal experience working with him, that
this is something he is deeply committed to on a personal level, and is
unconcerned about fame and fortune related to the success (or abuse) of the
certification process.

I'm sure he wouldn't want me to talk about him personally, but it totally
infuriates me that people like you take pot shots at him and his
organization accusing him either directly or through insinuation that he has
a hidden agenda. Mark is committed to the improvement of the PV industry and
you can choose to believe that or not. His level of commitment in the face
of huge health issues puts all of us to shame. You may not agree with his
means, but many many people have come to agree with many of his ideas.

I'm sure you are equally committed to this industry and obviously have a
different viewpoint. I have no problem with asking the tough questions and
playing devil's advocate to some extent, but it often crosses the line and
becomes simply mean and vindictive. I believe we are on the same team. Many
of the concerns and issues you have expressed have been seriously considered
and things have been adjusted in the process. I would have preferred to make
the adjustments under more amenable circumstances rather than threats.

Why is it that the opposition in utility companies and oil companies are
often easier to get along with than our own brothers and sisters in the PV
industry? I will continue to work toward credentialing of PV installers and
to make life hell for bad installers. Education, inspections,
certifications, accountability are all part of making life hell for bad
installers. Right now, our industry is one of the "easy money" industries
for fly-by-nights. That needs to change.

I'm tired of having to continue to defend the certification process, but
since it is the right thing to do, I will continue. Even you may come to
agree with me over the next decade--time will tell.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Bill.





-----Original Message-----
From: Smitty [mailto:smitty at aaasolar.com]
Sent: Friday, December 20, 2002 10:57 AM
To: RE-wrenches at topica.com
Subject: SPAM: Re: NABCEP [RE-wrenches]


Hi Bill. You said "ask", so I will. What is the Institute of Sustainable
Power's
relationship to the NABCEP, the certification program, and how long have you
been on it's board of directors? Respectfully, Smitty.

Bill Brooks wrote:

> Jeff,
>
> If you don't know what NABCEP "privately" wants, just ask the board
members.
> You are giving the impression that it is some faceless monster that you
have
> to guess about the intentions. NABCEP is the board of directors and the
> subcommittees under that board--nothing more. I serve on the PV Technical
> committee with Alan Sindelar and several others. Don Loweburg, Bob-O
Shultz,
> and Ezra Auerbach serve on the board. There is no private agenda. Talk
with
> the board members and get their opinions if you really want to know what
> NABCEP is thinking.
>
> If you want to believe that there is a hidden agenda, no one can stop you
> from doing so. Conspiracy theories abound--and will continue as long as
> folks want to believe them.
>
> NYSERDA has their own agenda. They have a small program and they are
looking
> for ways to help ensure success with their limited funds. They have the
> gold--they make the rules. If they feel that this certification will
provide
> an understanding as to whether someone is competitent--that is their
> business. I'm sure representatives of the board have made presentations
> about NABCEP, but that does not mean that there is a conspiracy to mandate
> NABCEP. If NYSERDA wants to do that, it is within their rights. In their
> case it will be phased in over time and if it causes problems in the
> program, they can change the program and fix the problems.
>
> The biggest negative about NYSERDA requiring NABCEP eventually is that the
> nay-sayers will use this as an example of how NABCEP is subverting the PV
> industry.
>
> As I said before, the best way to get support for NABCEP is to do nothing,
> just like we have done in California, and wait until it is too late.
> Pandora's box is now open in California, and it is really hard to cram all
> the bad stuff back in the box. When I first moved to California nearly
five
> years ago to teach installers and inspectors, nobody wanted to hear about
> certifying installers. Now many are wondering why we didn't do it earlier
> because a lot of damage has been done. These are natural reactionary
> responses. I prefer planning for the future rather than reacting to
problems
> that could have been avoided.
>
> Bill.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jeffery Wolfe, Global Resource Options
> [mailto:jeff at globalresourceoptions.com]
> Sent: Thursday, December 19, 2002 10:14 AM
> To: RE-wrenches at topica.com
> Subject: RE: NABCEP [RE-wrenches]
>
> Bill,
>
> Maybe blown out of proportion, maybe not. NYSERDA (NY's equivalent, sort
of,
> to CEC) is heading toward a requirement that to get a rebate, the system
>
> ***snip****
>
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