Greetings to all legitimate solar enthusiasts 
It’s been several weeks since my last post, and boy-oh-boy has it been busy. We completed another very heavily attended trade show (Intersolar), and we conducted 2 more Solar Energy International PV training workshops. I got my hernia successfully fixed up and I was appointed as a board member to NABCEP. Very exciting times indeed.
The purpose of this post is to caution our dealers, solar advocates, and end customers about the numerous scams that have been popping up. Solar is a hot topic on the news, and while the industry continues to grow at a modest pace, the market for scammers has been growing at an alarming rate.
Illegitimate Trade Shows – There are new solar trade shows appearing faster than I can keep track. Many are legitimate, but some are clearly fraudulent in their marketing practices. One ill-reputed trade show has caused numerous solar manufacturing companies concern by illegitimately listing them as exhibitors. Of the 200+ exhibitors they listed last year, only a couple dozen actually exhibited. This is the second year in a row that this show has practiced this type of deception, and manufacturers and potential attendees need to do their homework before deciding to attend any new event.
Unqualified Solar Training Programs - One of the most concerning industry problems is the rapid increase in training organizations that claim to take people without any solar or electrical experience and turn them into certified PV installers after a training class that lasts a few days. Often times, these new solar training organizations have instructors with little or no industry experience. Considering that solar installation is one of the most dangerous professions in the US, you should insist that your solar instructor have years of system design and installation experience before having them teach you about this very hazardous profession. You should be also be aware that there is no such thing as a NABCEP entry level certification. Currently, there are only 710 NABCEP certified PV installers in the US. Always check the validity of anyone claiming NABCEP certification at this website http://www.nabcep.org/installer-locator
If you are interested in getting solar training, I would strongly advise that you choose from one of the organizations listed in the IREC ISPQ training list found at this web page: http://irecusa.org/index.php?id=91
Bogus Solar Organizations/Associations - Another growing trend is new “solar organizations” or “solar associations” that are trying to cash in on the growing interest in solar without having any industry experience or industry credibility. I have witnessed several instances where people with obvious marketing skills decide to start their own solar organization with the primary objective of cashing in on the growth in solar interest, but sadly they don’t have the best interests of the industry at heart, and they make rediculous claims about solar. Often they are selling solar training programs that have no industry validity (see Unqualified Solar Training Programs above). I would encourage you to validate the legitimacy of these new organizations with the respected names in solar advocacy. The American Solar Energy Society www.ases.org has many state chapters that can help you in this process, and the Solar Energy Industry Associations www.seia.org also has state chapters that can help.
Remember that ONLY YOU are responsible for how you spend YOUR money. Do your research, and be aware that there are lots of bad guys out there just itching to take your money. 
Please be aware there is a NABCEP entry level certification I have one. I had Taken the test at the Florida Solar Energy Center.
It took about 3 weeks to get my results from NABCEP. NABCEP sent me a Letter and certificate for the entry level cert. and in the letter informed me of the install certifications for solar thermal water heating and Solar PV installer certs. cost of test after a 5 day solar course was 100.00. For your information only
Gary,
What you received was a NABCEP entry level “certificate of knowledge”. This is not an “Entry Level Certification”. I realize the word certificate has confused many people , and there has been considerable discussion within the NABCEP community about how to address this confusion. For the record, I am a sitting NABCEP board member. Yesterday the NABCEP board voted unanimously to change the name to the NABCEP entry level “test of knowledge” to avoid further confusion.
To learn more you can refer to the NABCEP website on this topic. The NABCEP “Entry Level Test of Knowledge” is aimed at students wanting to get a job the solar photo voltaic field. This “Entry Level Test of Knowledge” by itself does not qualify an individual to install PV systems but it does prepare them for employment in the field.
True NABCEP certification is very challenging to achieve and currently there are only 710 NABCEP Certified PV installers in North America. To even sit for the test you must complete both an educational component and a job experience component. There are many combinations that will allow you entry to the test, but the path that most have followed is taking the beginning and advanced PV training from a quality training organization like SEI, SLI, FSEC, or the MREA, and they have also completed at least 2 installs as the project lead. Most that pass the test have 2+ years experience designing and installing PV systems for a living. To locate the list of all 710, refer to this link. http://www.nabcep.org/installer-locator.
Thanks for your comments and I wish you success in your quest to become NABCEP certified. You have taken the right first step in completing training at the FSEC. They are one of the best training organizations in the industry.
Thanks for posting this info. I’ve been looking into different courses and as you said they are sprouting up all over the place. It’s hard to know reputable places from disreputable ones as they all offer very similar courses.
I’ve decided to go with the SEI courses as it seems that their instructors are the most qualified. I’m in Japan so I’ll be doing PV Design online and the Advanced PV online. I do hope to get a hands-on workshop in sometime in the New Year. They do have a variety of workshops and courses and a little something for everyone. I suggest anyone interested in getting themselves up-to-speed take a good look at the SEI site.
AEE advises all new AEE PV dealers to take the AEE/SEI partnership trainings (Beginner PV and Advanced PV), and this was a selling point for me. Solar Energy International has been in PV education for over 15yrs and classes have been booked up since last year (some classes even having waiting lists in the hundreds).
I took two other beginning PV workshops from other educational groups, and we consistently experienced frustration at the lack of true experience the instructors had in PV system design/installation and/or teaching PV. We took the AEE sponsored SEI PV Design& Installation (Beginners) course and we were ecstatic with SEI’s educational excellence. They facilitated a true comprehension of the basic fundamentals of PV.
Our SEI instructors offered decades of experience in the field. SEI also uses their own curriculum, which when used together, (book, power points and work book), is outstanding! The hands-on lab, field trips and discussions during the workshop taught me a basic knowledge base in PV that I can finally feel confident in.
I look forward to continuing professional development for myself and our employees with AEE and SEI.
I also appreciated Jeff Spies taking the time to discuss the business components of PV outside of class. His knowledge of the industry and business development, (partnered with the workshop) supersedes the cost! We regret the wasted money on the other, “educational PV workshops” but, in the same breathe we are thank-full we finally found AEE, as we are now able to appreciate the quality that AEE and SEI offer. Thank-you Jeff, Ed and Kevin!!!
Theresa Huyser
Green Light Solutions
Montana USA
I completely agree on these solar companies that offer training saying that they can get you up and going and installing pv in 2 days. They issue a certificate claiming your are ready to install pv. This is going to give a really bad name to our industry if this dosnt stop. Accidents, fires, and who know what else will start to happen. Plus the customer dosnt even get half of the energy they could be getting because its installed wrong.