Posts Tagged ‘solar jobs’

Not Enough Workers with PV Training and Solar Energy Job Preparation

Tuesday, February 15th, 2011

Solar energy is more prevalent today than ever before.  Worldwide, investors put more than US$1.66 billion into the solar market in 2010, with the United States, France, Israel, and Canada leading the pack.  Of late, Ontario has ranked particularly well in the photovoltaic (PV) market, encouraged by government incentives, such as the province’s feed-in tariff (FIT) program, which launched in October 2009.  These incentives have all helped the province’s solar market blossom, creating both more green energy and more demand for those with the requisite solar photovoltaic training.

These incentives have also attracted a tremendous amount of investment, both domestically and from abroad, as solar companies scramble to stake their claim in the province’s booming industry.  Calgary-based Enbridge Inc. just signed a multi-million dollar deal for two solar energy projects in Ontario.  Fort William First Nation became the only First Nation to sign onto a major solar project.  Flexitronics signed an agreement to produce solar panels in Ontario.  Toronto-based Celestica Inc. recently snagged a deal to supply solar modules in Ontario.  The list goes on.  In December of 2010, Ontario Energy Minister Brad Duguid announced the creation of 1,700 green energy jobs across the province.

With all the new opportunities that are arising, there are many different green energy jobs that require solar training ad PV knowledge, and these can be broken down into two main groups.  One group consists of solar panel designers and manufacturers, and the other includes solar panel installers and maintenance.  Solar job preparation does require an investment of time and money, but the career path is promising.

Solar Job Preparation

The basics of solar job training include fundamental knowledge of small level systems, as well as electronics and electrical systems.  This knowledge qualifies the student to work with smaller scale solar system deployment.  Classes exist across the province, usually lasting between a few days to several months.  These courses are usually offered in a workshop environment, meaning participants get hands-on experience and exposure.

Benefits of Solar Energy Jobs

Today there are more opportunities than even for someone with solar training to get a job.  People who invest in solar energy panels can save money in the long run on utility bills, so both the customer and the company offering the services, as well as the environment, will benefit.  With every solar energy job completed, there is also the not insignificant knowledge that the carbon footprint and impact on the environment will be reduced.

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Renewable Energy Careers in the Niagara Region

Saturday, February 12th, 2011

In southern Ontario, the Niagara Region has joined the Ontario Clean Technology Alliance (OCTA), an organization with representation in Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton, Waterloo Region, Windsor-Essex, London, Sarnia-Lambton, Chatham-Kent, and Guelph.  In a continuing cross-border exchange of technology learned in solar panel workshops and photovoltaic (PV) certification courses, alliance members were promoting Southern Ontario in Phoenix, Ariz. as a green-energy hub at the Energy, Utility, and Environment Conference EUEC 2011.  “We’re looking at it as a very cost-effective way of getting Niagara’s name out there,” said Alan Teichroeb, VP of Business Planning for the Niagara Economic Development Corp (NEDC).  ”When you’re marketing beyond the borders of your country, it’s particularly important to create alliances and partnerships.”

Municipal economic renewal efforts are part of many initiatives taken by the private sector in the region to encourage clean energy and green economics.  The rooftop at the 20 Bees Winery on Niagara Stone Road will have a different look come this spring when it becomes the new home for a 109-kilowatt solar energy system.  Enfinity, a global renewable energy company, will lease the rooftop space.  “Enfinity approached us about doing it and we’re very excited about it,” said Matt Dixon, Brand Manager for Diamond Estates, owner of the winery.  ”We think this is a great way to get alternative energy,” he said.  ”It benefits us; it benefits the community because everything goes back into the grid.”

PV Certification Course: Road to Entrepreneurship

Many Niagara residents have started attending solar panel workshops and PV certification classes to prepare themselves for renewable energy careers in the province.  After taking PV design and installation training at Ontario Solar Academy, Niagara construction consultant and electrical contractor, Luciano Di Leonardo, started two new companies: SolarHarvest Power Corporation Ltd. and SunHarvest Solar.  Similar examples of solar-powered entrepreneurship exist throughout the province as residents and business owners alike embrace the economic potential of photovoltaic technology.

Niagara’s political and business gurus recently erected signs along the QEW calling Niagara the “Green Energy Capital of Ontario.”  Renewable energy careers will grow alongside grapes in the vineyards of solar panel workshops.  They will be the new wine served at the clean energy table.  It is a sweet and intoxicating prospect.

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Company to Exhibit FIT, MicroFIT-Compliant Solar Trackers at Farm Show

Wednesday, January 26th, 2011

Ontario’s SunSations Energy, Inc. (SunSations) has announced that it will exhibit its dual-axis tracking systems for ground-mounted solar energy installations at this year’s Canadian International Farm Show in Toronto.  Ontario has created a booming solar industry that includes renewable energy jobs, PV installation courses, and an abundance of green electricity in the year and three months since the province instituted its feed-in tariff (FIT) and microFIT programs.  This year’s show will present vendors with an opportunity to show farmers how they can profit from these government incentives.

The farm show runs from February 8 to February 10 at the International Centre and will exhibit a wide range of products and services designed to help Canadian farmers in all aspects of their businesses.  Several solar energy companies will take advantage of the event to increase public awareness of their products and services, including Germany’s AS Solar, Inc. and Ethosolar, Inc., based in Barrie, Ontario.

Province Offers Solar Jobs, Renewable Energy Courses

SunSations is based in Guelph, about 100 km west of Toronto.  The company manufactures dual-axis tracking systems that meet the requirements of Ontario’s FIT and microFIT.  The programs pay participating renewable energy producers lucrative rates for power they feed into the grid from solar, wind, and biomass installations.  These incentives have helped to create green jobs for graduates of solar installation courses and for manufacturing plant workers, as well as in support industries such as transportation and the service sector.

SunSations specifically created its tracking system with farmers and the Ontario market in mind.  “Designed and engineered in Ontario for Ontario weather conditions,” says company partner Oliver Jakel, “SunSations has built this system to surpass Ontario Farm Building Code standards in the system’s most vulnerable position – the down position.  If your barn is standing following a storm, your SunSations Tracker will be, too.”  The company’s product, which will be a centrepiece of the farm show, uses a control system that runs effectively at temperatures as low as -40 C.  This makes it well-suited to the harsh winters of Ontario’s more northern climates.  It also sets itself apart from competing products due to its ease and speed of installation.

The SunSations solar tracker is an example of the types of innovations that Ontario and its green energy incentives bring to the province’s economy, and of the ways in which the region helps to move the country in a more productive and sustainable direction.

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Minister Tours Plant on First Anniversary of Its Entry into the Solar Industry

Thursday, January 20th, 2011

Ontario’s Energy Minister, Brad Duguid, recently completed a tour of the SunRise Power Corporation (SunRise Power) facilities in Peterborough during the first anniversary of the company’s entry into the province’s solar industry.  The city’s MPP, Jeff Leal, accompanied the Minister on the tour of the plant, where they received first-hand looks at the solar panel-making process.

The Ontario solar industry has grown quickly since the provincial Liberal government created its feed-in tariff (FIT) program near the close of 2009.  The program creates clean air and renewable energy job opportunities by paying high rates to producers of solar, wind, and biomass electricity who feed their projects into the grid.  It also supports the creation of solar installation and other renewable energy classes and curricula that help train the next generation of energy workers.  Investment in clean power projects has so far created at least 13,000 jobs in the province and Minister Duguid expects that it will add as many as 50,000 by the end of 2012.  These jobs are welcome additions to an economy hit hard by the 2008/2009 recession that gutted the North American auto industry, on which the province relied heavily.

Company Creates Fifteen Renewable Energy Jobs, Parts for Solar Class Grads

SunRise Power is a retailer and manufacturer of solar products that include inverters and racking systems for photovoltaic installations.  The company currently provides jobs for fifteen people and specializes in FIT-compliant systems that meet the program’s requirements for made-in-Ontario components and local labour.  These requirements help to keep both money and jobs in the province.

In addition to the FIT incentives, Ontario offers a number of other benefits to solar power producers and the businesses they serve.  The province’s solar PV classes bring much needed expertise to the industry as the local economy transitions from traditional manufacturing to greener and cleaner ways of doing business.

“We have the ability to take on the world,” says the Energy Minister, who adds that Ontario plans to terminate operations at all of its coal-fired power plants by 2014.  With the help of companies like SunRise Power, the province can meet this goal while it creates jobs and inspires green education and innovation for years to come.

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