Sign up for the lastest information from the IBEW!


IBEW Taps Into Power of the Sun Fall 2007, IBEW Journal California residents are increasingly turning to the sun for their energy needs, and members of Los Angeles Local 11 are working to make sure that IBEW journeymen will be ready provide the manpower to harness the fastest growing source of energy in the state. Los Angeles Local 11 Assistant Business Manager Kim Craft speaks at the conference of the American Solar Energy Society. Photo Credit: American Solar Energy Society. “Solar is really the wave of the future, and we need to make sure the IBEW will be the preferred provider of skilled solar workers,” said Los Angeles Local 11 Business Manager Marvin Kropke. Growing concerns about climate change and rising oil prices, in addition to large state incentives for homes and businesses for switching to clean and renewable sources of energy, have made California the leading producer of solar power in nation. “Over 70 percent of solar is happening right here,” said Bernie Kotlier, director of Green Building Solutions for the Labor Management Cooperation Committee of Greater Los Angeles, a joint effort of National Electrical Contractors Association of Southern California and Los Angeles Local 11. In 2006, California installed more than 70 megawatts of solar power, over double the amount from the previous year. By 2010, projections are the state will install 10 times that amount. And with last summer’s signing into law of the Million Roofs Initiative by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), a bill that offers further tax incentives to reach the state’s goal of a million solar roofs by 2018, the future of the energy industry in California is with the sun. However, many renewable energy advocates are concerned that there are not enough skilled solar workers to keep up with the growing demand. Currently there are 1,400 solar installers in California, but they will need at least 17,000 by 2015, Kotlier said. “A lot of people throughout the state are asking how you grow 40 percent more solar installers every year,” he said. For Local 11, the answer is simple. “You don’t need to train a separate work force, when you already have a highly trained pool of electricians who need minimal training to become qualified solar installers,” said Local 11 Assistant Business Manager Kim Craft. Local 11 and NECA began hosting three-day solar installation trainings last December at the Electrical Training Institute of Southern California, a joint training facility run by the IBEW and NECA. The 144,000-square-foot facility is home to one of the largest privately owned solar power generating systems in the United States. The institute is the perfect location to introduce IBEW journeymen to the world of photovoltaics, and the staff has assembled a team of experts from around the country to run the trainings. “We knew this was a big growth opportunity for us and that we needed to get started,” Kropke said. Trainees learned everything – from choosing the best place on a roof to put a panel to studying how solar power will affect electrical codes. So far, more than 1,300 members and contractors in Southern California have gone through the three-day session. The Solar Power Road Show Goes on Tour Word of the training quickly spread throughout California, and after many requests, Local 11 and NECA set up the “solar power road show” to bring the workshop to every part of the state. In June, a dozen instructors filled a 40-foot trailer with training equipment and sample solar panels and headed north. It is not easy to convince hard-working IBEW members to give up a weekend in the middle of the summer. But when Sacramento Local 340 Business Manager A.C. Steelman sponsored a stop for the training in early August, it was filled to capacity. Over 200 members and contractors showed up. “Not one attendee left during the three days,” Steelman said. “Our members know that the jobs are out there, and they want to be ready for them.” In late August, the road show stopped in San Luis Obispo. “Most of our members knew very little about solar power, even though it’s becoming a big deal around here,” said San Luis Obispo Local 639 Business Manager Hank Lewis. Nearly 175 journeymen and contractors attended. “After only two days, our members were ready to do the work,” Lewis said. Local 11’s training recently attracted national attention when Brad Collins, the executive director of the American Solar Energy Society, met Kotlier and Craft promoting it at a trade show in Las Vegas. Well aware of the demand for qualified installers, Collins was looking for speakers for ASES’s annual conference that could make the connection between the growing solar power industry and creating good-paying “green collar” jobs. “The IBEW is a pivotal player in the new energy economy and I knew that we needed to hear their perspective,” Collins said. Collins invited both Kotlier and Craft to speak at ASES’s annual conference in Cleveland, where they ended up speaking to an audience of more than 400. “They were a big hit,” said Bill Spratley, the executive director of Green Ohio. “They were effective union spokesmen because they focused on the issue of jobs and how the IBEW can play a role in filling the need for qualified solar installers.” “Attendees thought the IBEW was natural for a panel like this, because almost no else out there is doing the kind of training the union is doing,” Craft said. California is not alone in the move to make the IBEW a leader in solar energy installation. Solar incentives are offered in 35 states, so many locals are already preparing for the growth of solar power in their own areas. Detroit Local 58, working through the Michigan Apollo Alliance (see sidebar), launched a new solar energy training program in 2006 which will have the capacity to train more than 100 workers at a time in the installation and repair of photovoltaic systems, while Jersey City, N.J., Local 164 has begun offering solar training at their center in Paramus. The National Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee announced in July the publication of the first comprehensive guide to the installation of both commercial and residential solar energy systems, which can be incorporated into local trainings and apprenticeship programs. The California road show is planning another tour of the state in the fall. “There is so much work coming down the road, if we don’t start doing it, we will be left out,” Lewis said. Return To Working Green Solar...

“Over 70 percent of solar is happening right here,” said Bernie Kotlier, director of Green Building Solutions for the Labor Management Cooperation Committee of Greater Los Angeles, a joint effort of National Electrical Contractors Association of Southern California and Los Angeles Local 11.

In 2006, California installed more than 70 megawatts of solar power, over double the amount from the previous year. By 2010, projections are the state will install 10 times that amount.

And with last summer’s signing into law of the Million Roofs Initiative by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), a bill that offers further tax incentives to reach the state’s goal of a million solar roofs by 2018, the future of the energy industry in California is with the sun.

However, many renewable energy advocates are concerned that there are not enough skilled solar workers to keep up with the growing demand. Currently there are 1,400 solar installers in California, but they will need at least 17,000 by 2015, Kotlier said.

“A lot of people throughout the state are asking how you grow 40 percent more solar installers every year,” he said. For Local 11, the answer is simple. “You don’t need to train a separate work force, when you already have a highly trained pool of electricians who need minimal training to become qualified solar installers,” said Local 11 Assistant Business Manager Kim Craft.

Local 11 and NECA began hosting three-day solar installation trainings last December at the Electrical Training Institute of Southern California, a joint training facility run by the IBEW and NECA. The 144,000-square-foot facility is home to one of the largest privately owned solar power generating systems in the United States. The institute is the perfect location to introduce IBEW journeymen to the world of photovoltaics, and the staff has assembled a team of experts from around the country to run the trainings.

“We knew this was a big growth opportunity for us and that we needed to get started,” Kropke said.

Trainees learned everything – from choosing the best place on a roof to put a panel to studying how solar power will affect electrical codes. So far, more than 1,300 members and contractors in Southern California have gone through the three-day session.

The Solar Power Road Show Goes on Tour

Word of the training quickly spread throughout California, and after many requests, Local 11 and NECA set up the “solar power road show” to bring the workshop to every part of the state. In June, a dozen instructors filled a 40-foot trailer with training equipment and sample solar panels and headed north.

It is not easy to convince hard-working IBEW members to give up a weekend in the middle of the summer. But when Sacramento Local 340 Business Manager A.C. Steelman sponsored a stop for the training in early August, it was filled to capacity. Over 200 members and contractors showed up. “Not one attendee left during the three days,” Steelman said. “Our members know that the jobs are out there, and they want to be ready for them.”

In late August, the road show stopped in San Luis Obispo. “Most of our members knew very little about solar power, even though it’s becoming a big deal around here,” said San Luis Obispo Local 639 Business Manager Hank Lewis.

Nearly 175 journeymen and contractors attended. “After only two days, our members were ready to do the work,” Lewis said.

Local 11’s training recently attracted national attention when Brad Collins, the executive director of the American Solar Energy Society, met Kotlier and Craft promoting it at a trade show in Las Vegas.

Well aware of the demand for qualified installers, Collins was looking for speakers for ASES’s annual conference that could make the connection between the growing solar power industry and creating good-paying “green collar” jobs. “The IBEW is a pivotal player in the new energy economy and I knew that we needed to hear their perspective,” Collins said.

Collins invited both Kotlier and Craft to speak at ASES’s annual conference in Cleveland, where they ended up speaking to an audience of more than 400.

“They were a big hit,” said Bill Spratley, the executive director of Green Ohio. “They were effective union spokesmen because they focused on the issue of jobs and how the IBEW can play a role in filling the need for qualified solar installers.”

“Attendees thought the IBEW was natural for a panel like this, because almost no else out there is doing the kind of training the union is doing,” Craft said.

California is not alone in the move to make the IBEW a leader in solar energy installation. Solar incentives are offered in 35 states, so many locals are already preparing for the growth of solar power in their own areas.

Detroit Local 58, working through the Michigan Apollo Alliance (see sidebar), launched a new solar energy training program in 2006 which will have the capacity to train more than 100 workers at a time in the installation and repair of photovoltaic systems, while Jersey City, N.J., Local 164 has begun offering solar training at their center in Paramus.

The National Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee announced in July the publication of the first comprehensive guide to the installation of both commercial and residential solar energy systems, which can be incorporated into local trainings and apprenticeship programs.

The California road show is planning another tour of the state in the fall.

“There is so much work coming down the road, if we don’t start doing it, we will be left out,” Lewis said.

Return To
Working Green Solar...

Related Articles

IBEW Taps Into Power of the Sun Fall 2007, IBEW Journal

California residents are increasingly turning to the sun for their energy needs, and members of Los Angeles Local 11 are working to make sure that IBEW journeymen will be ready provide the manpower to harness the fastest growing source of energy in the state.

IBEW Taps Into Power of the Sun
Fall 2007, IBEW Journal