There are many ways to become a PV system installer, but some are certainly better than others. Regardless of the path you choose, you’ll eventually want to work towards National Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) certification.  The NABCEP is the highest level of certification available in the United States.

Benefits of NABCEP Certification for Installers and Consumers

For installers:

• Identifies installers as professionals, instilling consumer confidence in their work
• Validates extra resources spent on training and gaining experience
• Allows for installer mobility as the market moves from state to state
• Allows installers to distinguish their skills and experience in the field

For consumers:

• Provides a means to identify qualified installers, promoting confidence in the work performed
• Preserves consumer choice, maintaining access to both certified and uncertified installers (more…)

Photo credit: juanpol

Solar energy installations require a skill set all their own or, more accurately, a unique combination of several skills. A solar contractor is at once an electrician, plumber, and carpenter. Not that these aren’t highly specialized occupations. Both require a license. But that’s not all there is to a solar contractor.

Behind every good contractor is a good set of tools, and in the case of a solar thermal installer, that is a wide set of tools. It seems little attention is paid to the solar installer’s toolbox. I suppose sometimes we tend to think that a solar installer already knows better, but that is ignoring a whole new generation growing up with solar energy on the mind, in the classroom, and quite possibly as their best bet for a successful future. (more…)

You know times are hard for the solar industry when big time players like SunPower Corp are reporting quarterly net losses. Yet that is exactly what happened in April as SunPower and other solar companies prepare for a bleak year. On the silicon side of things, major manufacturer MEMC posted a slight profit in the quarter, but sales slid 57 percent nonetheless.

Historical Growth Hits Rough Patch

What does all this mean for the solar contractors out there eagerly awaiting projects to come? That the solar industry is a part of the economy like every other industry and that hard times mean hard times, even for an industry that has been growing by an average of about 40% over the last several years. That is not to say that all is lost, however. Solar contractors, and their industry as a whole, is by all measures in a relatively good spot.

Photo Credit: greenforall.org

Lost Demand, Surplus Supply, and High Up-Front Costs

Lost demand affects everyone in the industry, from manufacturers to installers, but so do federal tax incentives and funding for renewable energy. Furthermore, the sudden surplus in supply of solar equipment is likely to have a beneficial impact on the industry in the long term. For contractors, one of the hardest parts of the job is convincing customers that $25,000 is a worthy up-front investment. At this point, even the banks need convincing of that.

Yet lower panel production costs, and therefore lower costs out of the box for homeowners, makes that job a little easier. Combine that with lucrative state and federal incentives, the invaluable pride of going green, and volatile energy costs. What you end up with is a winning hand, albeit one that may not be ready to play just yet. (more…)