September 3, 2010

Photovoltaic training program aimed at improving safety

VINCE VERSACE

staff writer

A new national electrician certification program designed for working with photovoltaic equipment will improve safety and ensure effective installation in this emerging field, says Canada’s largest electrician union.

“We are taking steps to ensure that people who want to do solar installations are properly trained and know what skill sets are required,” said Alex Lolua, director of government and public relations at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW).

IBEW, First District, Canada, the National Electrical Trade Council (NETCO), the joint training arm of the Canadian Electrical Contractors Association and CSA Standards recently announced the development of a national, third-party, independent personnel certification program for construction electricians installing photovoltaic equipment in Canada.

Among the goals of the program, yet to be finalized, is to reduce the risk of serious accident and injury and to also help promote energy efficiency and increased public confidence in photovoltaic installations.

With Ontario’s feed-in-tariff (FIT) program, in which the province agrees to purchase power from privately-built and maintained solar photovoltaic arrays, a growth in solar arrays is expected and the integrity of these installations is an electrical industry concern, said IBEW.

“There is a concern with FIT that we could potentially get a lot of ‘fly-by-night’ people installing equipment,” explained Peter Olders, training director for the IBEW Construction Council of Ontario. “We want to make sure the installations conform to the standards in terms of safety and performance.”

Once the program is fully developed, construction electricians will likely require an additional 16 to 24 hours of training to safely and effectively install photovoltaic technology.

Within IBEW, there have been various locals that have put on solar installation training in the past but not to the extent of the developing program.

“One of the other drivers behind this program is that the warranty on some of these photovoltaic products is 25 years,” said Olders.

“We want to ensure the installation survives 25 years with absolutely no maintenance on that.”

The new personnel certification program is fully funded by NETCO. It’s also the first program in Canada to offer a certification based on the tasks that qualified journeyperson construction electricians carry out in applying their skills to the installation of solar equipment.

“The credibility of NETCO’s overall National Solar Photovoltaic Strategy is enhanced by the fact that we engaged CSA Standards from the outset,” Eryl Roberts, treasurer of NETCO, said in a statement. “This is a made-in-Canada personnel certification program informed by the Canadian Electrical Code and the Interprovincial Standards Red Seal Program. It is based on NETCO’s assertion that solar installations should be performed by qualified electricians working for licensed contractors under electrical permits.”

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