As long as different states take a different posture on regulating solar PV businesses, a [voluntary] national certification will not be effective in any state. When the City of Austin Texas and Austin Energy began working on their PV rebate, the City Attorney there made it clear that, to paraphrase, AE could not mandate NABCEP as a requirement for rebate qualified installers. Their justification was that the first time a non-NABCEP installer sued the city to be allowed into the program, the installer would win. This leaves the door open for literally anyone [in Texas] to lay claim to the PV installer title. North Texas' own utility funded rebate program [burned through ~$16 million in <18 months] used the same qualifying model allowing untold numbers of crap-level installations. And it's not so much the one-man startups with big dreams I'm worried about as much as the big multi-state electrical contractors that do two or three installs and call themselves PV professionals with NABCEP behind their name. Bottom line, until NABCEP certification becomes the default model for a national PV licensing standard, we will remain much like the VFW. Our older members will be highly regarded and respected by newer members but the outside world will view us simply as non-essential fraternity and go about their habit of giving their business to the lowest bidder. Once NABCEP can convince just one state to mandate a NABCEP-based state-wide PV license it will open the door for other states, and the nation, to follow. Optimistically
Jim Duncan North Texas Renewable Energy NABCEP Certified Solar PV Installer No.031310-57 TECL 27398 nt...@1scom.net 817.917.0527 www.ntrei.com -----Original Message----- From: re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org [mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org]On Behalf Of Nick Soleil Sent: Sunday, February 06, 2011 12:37 PM To: RE-wrenches Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Problem with NABCEP ad I am sitting for the NABCEP test next month, but resisted for many years, because I did not want to endorse an additional layer of bureaucracy and expense for solar installers. It costs as much as the state contractor's license! Most of the competent installers have become certified now, so there is not much we can do about it. NABCEP is too much money, and adding additional certifications should be at a reduced cost. Nick Soleil Project Manager Advanced Alternative Energy Solutions, LLC PO Box 657 Petaluma, CA 94953 Cell: 707-321-2937 Office: 707-789-9537 Fax: 707-769-9037 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- From: Aram Alexander <a...@aramsolar.com> To: RE-wrenches <re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org> Sent: Sun, February 6, 2011 10:11:20 AM Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Problem with NABCEP ad No you are not. I have been installing grid tied PV for 10 years in ca. Nabcep is union based and all though it is good but it does not mean by any means the best as we have to fix several nabcep installed systems. I personally don't like there advertising either Aram On Feb 6, 2011, at 9:13 AM, wire...@gmail.com wrote: > Hello Wrenches, > > NABCEP has a full page ad in Home Power magazine that tells potential PV buyers to "Insist on a NABCEP Certified Installer". That's a great ad if you are certified but not so good if you are not. I know many of you are but lots of us are not yet certified. > > NABCEP is doing a great job to ensure that PV is installed by qualified personal but is it their job to unintentionally cause non NABCEP certified installers who are otherwise very qualified to lose business. I don't think so. > > I contacted NABCEP about the consequences of this ad and actually asked them to stop running it or at least tone it down so it doesn't cause installers like to me to lose business. They disagreed with me. > > Am I being too sensitive here? > > Thank you. > > Larry Liesner > Wirewiz > Westport, CT > Phone: 203-644-2404 > Fax: 203-557-0556 > wire...@gmail.com > www.wire-wiz.com > > > > _______________________________________________ > List sponsored by Home Power magazine > > List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org > > Options & settings: > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > List-Archive: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > List rules & etiquette: > www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm > > Check out participant bios: > www.members.re-wrenches.org > > _______________________________________________ List sponsored by Home Power magazine List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Options & settings: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List-Archive: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List rules & etiquette: www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out participant bios: www.members.re-wrenches.org
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