Hi guys, Oregon has some of the most stringent laws in the country. In order to become an installer you must first complete a 4000 hour apprenticeship. This must be done under a currently licensed solar installer, or under a journeyman or higher electrical license. Currently the state is only accepting about 2-3 people a year into this apprenticeship, so it is really difficult to break into installing here.
Believe it or not, for a while I was not even allowed to install rails and Lfeet on a roof because it was part of an electrical installation. This one still blows my mind. As far as commercial goes there is a 25kW limit to the scope of the Solar license. That means anything above 25kW requires a journey or higher level license from the state. We are trying hard to get these rules changed, but the IBEW is fighting too. My mantra here is this: We are the ones who have been working hard to learn how to design and install these systems so that they are compliant with NEC, local UBC, and will operate to our predicted standards. The Electricians have put little to no time into learning this technology, and as a result I end up training electricians all the time. So why is that state allowing people who could have cared less about solar a few years ago to suddenly be at the forefront of the big money jobs?? It is baffling to me. I am currently working to change this in Oregon. If any of you are willing, would you please contact me off-list and let me know what the licensing requirements are in your state? This would help me show the state of Oregon that they are taking work away from the most qualified people to install and design it. If anyone else has any points or arguments to be made against the way the state of OR currently runs things please help me by contacting me. THANKS!!! Jeff Blick PV installer Sunlight Solar Inc. 4 NW Franklin Bend, OR 97701 direct: 541-306-4196 fax: 541-322-1911 [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.sunlightsolar.com -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2008 3:06 PM To: re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Subject: RE-wrenches Digest, Vol 1, Issue 244 Send RE-wrenches mailing list submissions to re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.re-wrenches.org/listinfo.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to [EMAIL PROTECTED] You can reach the person managing the list at [EMAIL PROTECTED] When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of RE-wrenches digest..." When responding to posts within the Digest, be sure to restore the Subject: line to the original, and please edit out any extraneous lines from the quoted message. Today's Topics: 1. State licensing for PV installers in Texas (North Texas Renewable Energy Inc) 2. Re: State licensing for PV installers in Texas (Bob Maynard) 3. Re: State licensing for PV installers in Texas (North Texas Renewable Energy Inc) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:44:37 -0500 From: "North Texas Renewable Energy Inc" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [RE-wrenches] State licensing for PV installers in Texas To: "RE Wrenches" <re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org> Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Wrenches the Texas Dept of Licensing and Regulation has (finally) proposed a Limited Solar Electric License for installers in Texas. There is currently no "solar license" in Texas. Among other fairly arbitrary and borderline ridiculous potential requirements (IMHO) is a 50 kWDC cap on the size of systems allowed, based on inverter rated output. Also the license holder may not work on commercial installations. Are these typical of the license restrictions in other states? thanks Jim Duncan North Texas Renewable Energy Inc 817.917.0527 [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.ntrei.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org/attachme nts/20081029/4eb79c3f/attachment-0001.htm> ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:50:52 -0500 From: "Bob Maynard" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] State licensing for PV installers in Texas To: "RE-wrenches" <re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org> Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Jim, In Oregon we have a Limited Renewable Energy Technician license. We are capped at 25kw and can do residential and commercial. The LRT license does not allow us to make final AC connections on any system and requires a site visit from an electrician. Regards, Bob Maynard VP NW Distribution Sales groSolar What the World Needs. NOW 535 NE Westbrook Way Grants Pass, OR 97526 Direct: 541.291.4044 TollFree: 800.467.6527 x4044 Fax: 541.476.7480 Mobile: 541.761.1636 groSolar.com <http://www.grosolar.com/> http://blog.groSolar.com <http://blog.grosolar.com/> North America's Premier Installer, Distributor and Integrator of Solar Energy Solutions Distributor for Evergreen Solar, Suntech Power, SMA, Fronius, PV Powered, Outback Power, GridPoint, UniRac, Heliodyne SHW and other premier renewable energy products From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of North Texas Renewable Energy Inc Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2008 2:45 PM To: RE Wrenches Subject: [RE-wrenches] State licensing for PV installers in Texas Wrenches the Texas Dept of Licensing and Regulation has (finally) proposed a Limited Solar Electric License for installers in Texas. There is currently no "solar license" in Texas. Among other fairly arbitrary and borderline ridiculous potential requirements (IMHO) is a 50 kWDC cap on the size of systems allowed, based on inverter rated output. Also the license holder may not work on commercial installations. Are these typical of the license restrictions in other states? thanks Jim Duncan North Texas Renewable Energy Inc 817.917.0527 [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.ntrei.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org/attachme nts/20081029/d159cd8e/attachment-0001.htm> ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:05:31 -0500 From: "North Texas Renewable Energy Inc" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] State licensing for PV installers in Texas To: "RE-wrenches" <re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org> Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Also to elaborate, The Texas license will restrict any work "on the AC side of the inverter" by anyone but a State licensed Electrical Contractor. I am stating, in a reply (to the group working on the language) "since the inverter AC output is current-limited by design, from a safety perspective the DC side could be considered as or more dangerous than the AC side." Is this statement a valid one? Jim ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- ----- Original Message ----- From: Bob Maynard To: RE-wrenches Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2008 4:50 PM Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] State licensing for PV installers in Texas Jim, In Oregon we have a Limited Renewable Energy Technician license. We are capped at 25kw and can do residential and commercial. The LRT license does not allow us to make final AC connections on any system and requires a site visit from an electrician. Regards, Bob Maynard VP NW Distribution Sales groSolar What the World Needs. NOW 535 NE Westbrook Way Grants Pass, OR 97526 Direct: 541.291.4044 TollFree: 800.467.6527 x4044 Fax: 541.476.7480 Mobile: 541.761.1636 groSolar.com http://blog.groSolar.com North America's Premier Installer, Distributor and Integrator of Solar Energy Solutions Distributor for Evergreen Solar, Suntech Power, SMA, Fronius, PV Powered, Outback Power, GridPoint, UniRac, Heliodyne SHW and other premier renewable energy products From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of North Texas Renewable Energy Inc Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2008 2:45 PM To: RE Wrenches Subject: [RE-wrenches] State licensing for PV installers in Texas Wrenches the Texas Dept of Licensing and Regulation has (finally) proposed a Limited Solar Electric License for installers in Texas. There is currently no "solar license" in Texas. Among other fairly arbitrary and borderline ridiculous potential requirements (IMHO) is a 50 kWDC cap on the size of systems allowed, based on inverter rated output. Also the license holder may not work on commercial installations. Are these typical of the license restrictions in other states? thanks Jim Duncan North Texas Renewable Energy Inc 817.917.0527 [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.ntrei.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 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org/attachme nts/20081029/e6eee1b7/attachment.htm> ------------------------------ _______________________________________________ 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 End of RE-wrenches Digest, Vol 1, Issue 244 ******************************************* _______________________________________________ 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
