88 Hour Certified PV Installer Course Launched - Solar Training Meets NABCEP's New Requirements

Nationally recognized ONTILITY Solar Training has responded quickly to the newly changed NABCEP PV Installer Certification requirements. The response by ONTILITY includes the new Certified PV Installer Track of courses that includes Online Solar Fundamentals Course and the Advanced Solar Electric Training followed by the Advanced PV Design Course that will be offered online and at ONTILITY Solar Training's world class training center, located in Houston TX.

The new requirements for eligibility to take the NABCEP PV Installer Certification Exam were published by the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) on December 14, 2011, and only affect its PV Installer certification program.

The changes announced by NABCEP make the eligibility requirements more stringent for the NABCEP Certified PV Installer designation and will take effect over the coming months. NABCEP changed the amount and type of PV installer training and the number of PV installations required. The changes have gone into effect on January 13, 2012.  All candidates will have to document fifty eight (58) hours of advanced PV training that follows the NABCEP PV JTA and will have to complete an OSHA-10 course. The minimum number of installations has also increased in quantity and size from two to three for some applicants and from two to five for applicants with less experience.

“Much of the required training, 40 of the 58 hours, must now cover advanced PV installation topics from the NABCEP JTA and not entry level JTA topics as is currently required. It is this shift to more advanced solar training course material that ONTILITY has responded to with its new Advanced Solar Electric Training course.” According to Ken Whiteside, ONTILTY Director of Education. Ken continues, “ONTILITY is well positioned and ready to meet these higher education requirements published by NABCEP. We have long been a strong supporter of NABCEP and its certification programs and we welcome the opportunity to increase installer readiness and the skills of solar installation professionals with our new solar training courses.”

The ONTILITY five day advanced solar training course will cover the full range of topics addressed by the newly updated NABCEP PV Installer Job Task Analysis and will thoroughly cover variety of industry standard PV system design and installation best practices.

The ONTILITY Solar Training curriculum development team has introduced a new 88 Hr  Certified PV Installer Track to more than satisfy the  58 hour educational requirement that was announced by NABCEP on January 14, 2012. This track includes the 24 Hr Online Solar Fundamentals Course, in addition to the 40 hour Advanced Solar Electric Training Class, followed by the 24 hour Advanced Solar PV Design Course which can be taken online or at ONTILITY's Houston Solar Training Center houprepares solar professionals to produce accurate large and small commercial project design with speed and efficiency.

Regarding the implementation of the changed requirements, Ezra Auerbach, NABCEP’s executive director said, “The revisions are being phased in to ensure fairness to candidates who have been approved to test under the current criteria.” All potential candidates for the March 2012 PV Installer Exam who meet the January 13 application deadline will be reviewed under the existing standards, but any candidates for the September 2012 PV Installer Exam will be reviewed under the new requirements.

About ONTILITY

ONTILITY is committed to Connecting the Last Mile of the Solar Industry. In just over two years, ONTILITY has grown from a start up to an 80M solar business success leader featuring Solar Distribution, Solar Training, Solar Business and Project Support Services and Solar Solutions. Learn Solar design & installation through our professional solar training. Buy Solar from our stocking warehouse of superior solar products at competitive prices. Enjoy Solar Business Success with our full range of partner support services including engineering and design consulting, proposal support, sales and marketing programs, technology solutions, due diligence and financial support, lease programs, custom training and project consulting. Team with us on residential, commercial and large scale Solar Solutions. ONTILITY brings you best-in-class solar business and project training, products, support, services and solutions.

About NABCEP

The North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) is the “gold standard” for PV and solar thermal installation certification. Designed to raise industry standards and promote consumer confidence, NABCEP offers certification and certificate programs to renewable energy professionals throughout North America.