NABCEC [RE-wrenches]

Wed Dec 18 21:42:57 PST 2002

Travis,

Way to go Dude (ya!) Your arguments are well thought out and right on
target. Being in California tends to make you forget how things were (and
still are in the rest of the country) just a very, very short time ago.
I also still do plenty of small (and large) off-grid jobs for people who
don't have access to any of the available state or federal money that drives
the current trends in PV because I like that side of the business, and the
folks are usually really happy to see your face at the door.

All this certification momentum is a juggernaut launched by temporary
opportunity, but once it gathers way will be impossible to stop for any of
us, even if we decide we don't like it after all the funding dries up and
blows away in the detritus of our faltering state budget.

Many interested parties remind us that the whole process is "strictly
voluntary", but I agree with you;
simply by default, those who don't volunteer will be squished out of the
business in the end, either by poorly informed state requirement, or simply
by zealous behavior of bigger businesses. Not to imply that the backers of
the certification program don't have our collective best interest in mind,
they do. It's just the nature of things that programs like this eventually
become onerous regardless of intentions.

I'll probably have to go for the cert. just to keep up with the
competition - as will most of us I suppose.
I believe that most work is done pretty well these days by most of the
people in the business though, and don't see the driving need for the
program that many others do I guess. I also believe that the current
licensing requirements tend to work adequately. Maybe that's just a myopic
view of someone who lives in a semi-rural part of the country who doesn't
see the glaring examples of crappy installations that those in "town" do.
Who knows?

Matt

----- Original Message -----
From: "Travis Creswell, Ozark Solar" <ozsolar at ipa.net>
To: <RE-wrenches at topica.com>
Sent: Wednesday, December 18, 2002 7:52 PM
Subject: Re: NABCEC [RE-wrenches]

>
>
> Dang... all of this NABCEP stuff is really making my head hurt.  I've just
> got to say say a few things.  Mostly well thought out criticisms and a
> little ranting so here goes....
>
> I'm all for qualified people doing the things that they are licensed to
do.
> But do any other of the installing/construction/service trades (not
> "certified energy planners, auditors", etc) have National Certification
> Programs? (no they don't)  I'm already licensed, insured and bonded.  Am I
> not smart enough to educate myself on how to properly install equipment?
> Are my potential customers so naive that they are afraid to ask hard
> questions?  How long have you been in business?  Can I see proof of
> insurance?  What about your references?
>
> And why should I, in a region where most renewable energy installations
are
> undertaken by homeowners who buy the material from the cheapest solar.com
of
> the day and pay some uninsured, unlicensed hippie fed up with California
(ya
> dude, like I did solar in California) stranded in the Ozarks $12/hr to
> install it, undertake the time and expense of becoming NABEC certified?
A
> certification process that requires I travel to a facility a thousand
miles
> away to take the test at my expense.  It also requires that I maintain
CEU's
> and re-certify every three years?  Remember, no real construction trade
has
> a national certification program.  The additional costs of being NABEC
> Certified means I have to charge more than I already do.  Some people who
> call me think that anything over $20/hr is high.  Needless to say, I don't
> work for them anyway but that's a different story.
>
> I've said it again and again.  Customers who put blind faith in a
> "certified" installers certification will get took to the cleaners every
> time.  And dang it people wake up.... this NABEC thing stands for
everything
> most of us are in the business to avoid.  Quit hitting the snooze button.
> Can't you see it!  As much as I hate to admit it, the only way solar it
> going to grow is through heavy local, state and federal subsidies (or
> through RPS' etc).  If NABEC gets their way, the only was this money is
> going to get dispersed is through "certified" installations which is going
> to leave most of the little guys out, which appears to be the very idea of
> NABEC to me.
>
> Let's consider this scenario.  We'll use my state, Missouri, for example.
> To my knowledge there might be two installers in the state who could even
> begin to come close to meeting the requirements for NABEC certification.
> Suddenly, one of our utility companies receives a major fine for some
> business or environmental no-no.  They cough up 2 billion dollars to be
> dispersed for various public benefit projects and 50 million goes for PV
> installations.  (Forget the fact the SDHW would do a lot more good)  Or we
> get a RPS, or a state funded buy down program.  It doesn't really matter
> what the source of the money is, it's just there all at once.
>
>  In sweeps NABEC to help my state officials make sure that the
installations
> are "done right" and to make sure that only definition of "done right" is
> the NABEC definition.  Here is where the "voluntary" certification lie
falls
> apart.  If you want to do any install work with this money you'll HAVE to
be
> NABEC certified. That's a sure thing.  How voluntary is that?  But who can
> afford to send folks away for training and certification testing?  The
same
> folks who will make sure that there are "field experience waivers"
available
> to those who are in a apprenticeship programs.  Don't make me spell it out
> for you, brother(hood).   That means that no small time, one person solar
> shops grow because all they've done are off grid installations which don't
> go towards NABEC experience requirements. (Correct me if I'm wrong)  The
> same shops that have scraped out a meager living driving 3 hrs one way
doing
> installations waiting for solar to take off.  Attended numerous County
> Fairs, never selling a darn thing... Patiently explained to thousands of
> people that conservation comes first and the cost effective applications
of
> solar are knowing that it was always going to end with the same statement
> "solar is just too expensive".  The same shops who will be left after the
> money dries up to get calls from really angry folks with dead systems
> installed by big shops who no longer work on solar.   Not to mention there
> will be some real messes to clean up made by folks who were certified.
This
> would describe a lot states, not just my state.
>
> Even if the little shop can afford the time and hassle of the
certification
> the process, it will take 6 months and probably a year to get certified.
> By then, all of the big shops from CA will have set up temporary offices
in
> the state gobbling up the money as fast as they can (ya dude).
>
> NABEC Certification is just plain bad business for most installers and if
I
> wasn't so dang busy making real money on the other parts of my business
> (saving loads of kWh's) I might just do something about it.  Why should
> Re-Wrenches undertake something that we don't need, take a test made by
> people who know less about solar than most of us, increase our hourly
rates
> to make up for the lost time in training and added additional costs, and
the
> list goes on and on.
>
> Whew,  I feel better now.
>
> Asbestos impregnated flame shields up.
>
> Travis Creswell
> Ozark Energy Services
>
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