Financing package to help train workers on solar systems

Kevin Rademacher

Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2004 | 11:06 a.m.

An ongoing effort to increase the use of solar power in Nevada received another boost Monday morning when U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., delivered a $250,000 financing package to local union leaders.

The package -- which includes $194,000 from the Energy Department and equipment and technical support from Nevada Power Co. -- will be used to train workers on the installation of solar power generation systems.

The Nevada Photovoltaic Systems Training Project will be managed by the Nevada State AFL-CIO and will be conducted at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers training center.

Officials at the dedication of the project on Monday said the plan was another step in an effort to meet new renewable energy standards enacted by the 2001 Nevada Legislature. Those standards call for an increasing percentage of the power delivered to customers by the state's major electric utilities -- including Nevada Power -- come from renewable energy sources, reaching 15 percent in 2013.

"This is a very important step," said Robert Balzar, director of energy efficiency and conservation for Nevada Power.

The two-year program is scheduled to hold four sessions a year with 20 workers in each class. The first class is tentatively slated for spring of 2005. Workers will construct a solar demonstration garden that will include panels in the training center parking lot that will provide power to the building, said Madison Burnett, training director for the IBEW Local 357.

Workers will be trained in installing projects used on homes and businesses, Balzar said.

Nevada Sen. Randolph Townsend, R-Reno, said developing a trained workforce to build such projects is critical in developing support for greater use of the projects. He said shoddy work will create a negative image that ultimately stalls widespread acceptance of the new technology.

"There's a threshold that has to be met, and consumer confidence is key," he said.

Balzar said consumer acceptance also is important in creating a more economically viable renewable manufacturing industry. Most experts have said that the payback on investing in a solar generation project is still many years because the equipment remains expensive. He likened the fledgling industry, however, to the computer chip industry.

"The price of chips has fallen dramatically every three or four years because of the number of computers that have been sold (reduces the manufacturers cost per unit)," Balzar said. "It's real, but it takes a sales volume to achieve that."