[RE-wrenches] Solar gathering?

[North Texas Renewable Energy Inc]

With all due respect to your experience in California Joel, total
installations is not a very accurate indicator of ability in todays PV
industry imho. A good start is how many years have you been in the business,
really in the business. This does not include the PV pump in your koi pond
but real verifiable, green-tagged installs. 20+ year electrical contractors
with a half-dozen installs don't count either. NABCEP certification is
another excellent filter but several ECs around here simply hired a NABCEP
cert to be able to fly the logo.

I have sat through Bill Brooks classes almost as many times as John Wiles
classes. Just spent 8 hours in a James Stallcup Sr. class in  Austin Friday
and had lunch Saturday with the 25 year Exec. Dir. of treia.org. My www site
doesn't emphasize the number of installs but it does show a list of training
classes, and conferences etc I have attended over the last 18 years.

I won't go into the politics of why Texas is a decade behind the leading
edge of PV in the US but I probably don't have to when you consider our
political situation here. And our working with TREIA at the state capitol
for the last 6 years "greasing the skids" in favor of pro-RE legislation
gives a whole new perspective on those politics. There's a reason SEIA &
SEPA brought SPI to Dallas.

And since you mentioned it, I don't know how many Wrenches will be at SPI in
Dallas but be sure to check out the pulled pork sandwiches and
"first-drink-free" meetup at Poor Davids Pub on the 19th from 6-9. It's
sponsored by the Texas Solar Energy Society and it's just a couple of blocks
from the big show. We'll be looking for NABCEP shirts.

Jim Duncan
North Texas Renewable Energy
NABCEP Certified Solar PV
Installer No.031310-57
TECL 27398
ntrei at 1scom.net
817.917.0527
www.ntrei.com


Dear Jesse,

1. Go to the Dallas solar exhibition and spend a lot of time on the floor
talking to real engineers with field experience (not salespeople). First
question to ask is "How many PV systems have you installed?" Anyone with
less than 50 systems under their belt is either reading from the book or
still in training.

2. Attend a Bill Brooks training session. Bill has strong opinions that some
wrenches disagree with but has seen more PV installations than over 99% of
the people on Earth and has spend decades thinking about what is good and
bad PV.

3. Meet with and walk the exhibit floor with and talk shop day and night
with as many wrenches as you can (at least 3 a day).

4. Go to the exhibits all the time they are open and keep your ears open.
Wrenching is parts and the people who put parts together. Only go to
sessions and workshops when the exhibits are closed.

5. Don't become a true believer in any one part or one way to put parts
together. There are many good and bad parts and techniques. The quest is
finding something better.

Have fun.
Joel Davidson
"Not all change is for the better, but nothing gets better without change."



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