Go Green: Solar Education Program Starts with Design and Installation

A 3-kilowatt array of solar panels will soon be going up on Northampton Community College’s (NCC) Main campus in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

One of twelve colleges in the state to win a 2008 Solar Scholars PV (photovoltaics) matching grant from the Sustainable Energy Fund, NCC will use the funds to create a course in solar PV installation and design. The course will be introduced in fall 2009 and will include, as its capstone, the design and installation of the solar panel array.

“The grant enables NCC to make useful contributions to energy and environmental sustainability and to enhance job opportunity and salary potential for students,” says Leo Thielmann, director of the NCC Center for Business and Industry.

The course will be 40-50 hours of lecture and hands-on experience, open to holders of electrical licenses and those who have completed the prerequisite courses. Upon completion, graduates will have taken the first course to prepare for a certification examination.

“The course will be another arrow in the quiver of electricians,” says Thielmann of a skill set increasingly in demand.

The call for solar energy designers and installers is accelerating; in 2006, there were 100 technicians certified nationwide. In 2007, there were 422. The demand is expected to keep growing, as states and the federal government award tax credits for using sustainable energy. Pennsylvania did so last July.

NCC’s course will fill a timely need in the entire Middle Atlantic States region. New York requires certification in solar installation and several community colleges offer a hands-on course. New Jersey requires an equivalent entry course for installers, but has only one institution offering a 40-hour training course with no hands-on content. Pennsylvania does not yet have any specialized requirements, but will potentially mandate certification within the next year or two.

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