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from the editor...
Jane Pulaski
June: the start of summer. School's out, schedules relax, vacations dominate, the pace slows. However, for the Solar Instructor Training Network (SITN), June might as well have been the 4th of July, the first day of school, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Let me explain.
The Best Practices documents, designed to significantly hasten the development of quality solar training and education programs throughout the U.S., hit the streets the first week of June. Written by some of the most well-known experts in the field, the Best Practices enable instructors to easily enhance current solar curriculum and add solar to related trades curriculum. These Best Practices build on IREC's previous work of Best Practices first published in 2008 and updated in 2010.
Barely one week later, DOE's SunShot Grand Challenge and Tech Summit held in Denver in June, showcased the SITN to 700+ attendees and to the DOE leadership (including Energy Secretary Steven Chu), affirming the premise that a well-trained solar workforce contributes to reducing the overall cost of solar. With PV equipment trucked some 1,700 miles from Pennsylvania State University's (PSU) Northern Mid-Atlantic Solar Education and Resource Center to Denver, and with the help of a team of students from Front Range Community College led by instructor Clark Mozer, the system was re-assembled and caught the eye of Energy Secretary Steven Chu who stopped at the demo rooftop and asked the students detailed questions about installation techniques and costs.
The SITN booth, which spanned a corner at the front of the exhibition hall, featured four 36x48" informational posters, as well as monitors running two interactive programs developed by SITN: the Solar Career Map, and the PV Online Training (PVOT) for Code Officials.
Registration is open for IREC's Annual Meeting in Orlando on Monday, September 10th. Hear from nationally-recognized experts and thought leaders on today's pertinent issues. We'll also recognize our 2012 Innovation and Special Award recipients. And, we're celebrating IREC's 30th year on Sunday, September 9th, also in Orlando.
IREC's recent Sharing Success: Emerging Approaches to Efficient Rooftop Solar Permitting, outlines innovative strategies being implemented across the U.S. to help increase the efficiency of permitting procedures for rooftop solar systems. Authored by Sky Stanfield, Erica Schroeder and Thad Culley, all of Keyes, Fox & Wiedman, LLP, it's a source of inspiration for communities looking for realistic and effective ways to improve solar permitting while ensuring safe solar installations.
Wait. There's one more.
Registration is now open for the 5th National Clean Energy Workforce Education Conference in Albany November 13-15th. The Preliminary Conference Agenda is on the Conference website. It's always a who's who of the most current information on instructional strategies, curricula development, credentialing and best practices for training in the renewable energy and efficiency fields.
Until we see each other again, here's to your continually inspiring work. Happy 4th to you.
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REGISTRATION NOW OPEN
As always, it's free for IREC members in good standing (as of 6/15/12). Questions about membership? Contact Jane Pulaski.
Want to know what we've got planned? The Preliminary Agenda is online. Paula Mints, Navigant Consulting, is our keynote.
What were you doing in 1982? Get your best 1982 party vibe going on Sunday, September 9th, at The Groove, in Orlando
and join us for our 30th. We wouldn't think of celebrating this remarkable milestone without you.
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The latest news from our friends at DSIRE.
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Connecting to the Grid
by Laurel Varnado
Innovating our way to solar process efficiencies
Innovation and efficiency are undoubtedly two of the founding tenets of the U.S. economy. As Henry Ford, one of the founding fathers of mass production, taught us, by reducing labor hours and increasing efficiency, we can innovate our way to lower costs and larger market shares. Just as Ford's vision popularized the assembly line in the early 20th century, jurisdictions around the country are beginning to innovate their way toward safe and efficient solar approval processes. With multiple layers of inspections and applications all requiring similar information, this can begin to look more like an assembly line of different processes that need to be completed to reach the final product. More
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IREC Credentialing Program
by Pat Fox
IREC Announces 1st Accreditation of a DOE Weatherization Training Center
Community Housing Partners' New River Center for Energy Research and Training (NRCERT) became the first DOE Weatherization Training Center to obtain IREC ISPQ Training Program Accreditation. NRCERT is also the first training provider to become accredited for an energy efficiency/weatherization program. NRCERT, established in 1999, provides training in state-of-the-art residential energy conservation techniques, home performance testing, and heating and cooling equipment diagnostics, repair, and replacement. NRCERT has trained over 23,000 participants across 25 states and Canada. More
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Solar Instructor Training Network
by Joe Sarubbi
 June was a big month for the SITN. We released the Best Practices documents, a series of
documents designed to give instructors an in-depth resource to develop new solar education and training programs, enhance existing ones, as well as integrate solar content into related trades programs. We also participated in the SunShot Grand Challenge in Denver last month, and had the opportunity to show Energy Secretary Chu how the work of the SITN is helping drive down the overall costs of solar. More.
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Small Wind News
by Larry Sherwood
Just released from AWEA at their 2012 Annual Meeting in June.
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of note...
Sharing Success: Emerging Approaches to Efficient Rooftop Solar Permitting, outlines innovative strategies being implemented across the U.S. to help increase the efficiency of permitting procedures for rooftop solar systems. Authors Sky Stanfield, Erica Schroeder, and Thad Culley of Keyes, Fox & Wiedman LLP conducted extensive one-on-one conversations with cities and counties regarding their permitting processes and the specific improvements they were putting in place. "We found that communities are identifying permitting improvements that can save time for everyone involved."
There's still time. Applications are due Friday, July 6th, for projects and programs in clean energy workforce development; K-12 education and training; community renewable energy; and state and local government initiatives. Projects must have been completed in 2011.
As the IREC Credentialing Program grows, updates and improvements to the program and program documentation are made to address questions and feedback from candidates and to support a high quality assessment process.
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Early bird rates good through 10/1/12 |
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Developed by Dr. Sarah White and IREC for the Solar Instructor Training Network, explores the many job opportunities available in the solar industry.
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In their own words: credential holders talk about the value of IREC ISPQ
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Read IREC's Newsletters
The IREC Report
Connecting to the Grid
Small Wind News
The ISPQ Insider
The SITN Quarterly subscribe |
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Where in the world is IREC?
July
Aug
Sept
Nov
Dec
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IREC thanks these very generous sponsors for our Annual Meeting.
Want to see your name here? Contact Jane Pulaski for sponsorship details.
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Like what you see here? Have suggestions or comments? We want to know. Let us hear from you.
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September 10-13
Orlando, FL
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ABOUT IREC
The Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) is a non-profit organization accelerating the use of renewable energy since 1982. IREC's programs and policies lead to easier, more affordable connection to the utility grid; fair credit for renewable energy produced; best practices for states, municipalities, utilities and industry; and quality assessment for the growing green workforce through the credentialing of trainers and training programs. Visit us at www.irecusa.org.
Disclaimer The Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) does not assume any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product or process that is referred to or linked to in this newsletter. Reference to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply IREC's endorsement or recommendation.
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