Union Ironworkers Provide Training for Green Energy Job Corps
International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers.
The skilled tradesmen who do more than you can imagine - Union Ironworkers - in response to Vice-President Biden’s recent comments regarding green jobs training, are anxiously awaiting the opportunity to install and maintain green energy projects in a safe and productive manner throughout the United States and Canada.
“Vice-President Biden is correct in stating that a well-trained workforce is required to successfully erect, install and maintain the promising green energy category. Our members are not only capable of successfully achieving this goal, but also in a position to immediately begin work on green and renewable energy projects as soon as the economic stimulus package is appropriated,” said Joseph Hunt, general president of the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers.
Growing Excitement, Expectations For Green Jobs Corps
March 2, 2009 by editor
Filed under Green Collar, Op-Ed
Wind turbines across the US have created a need for schools to add courses preparing wind turbine mechanics and other green workers for the fast growing new technology.
When Rita Bryer sees 300-foot-tall wind turbines sprouting up from the prairie near her home in western Oklahoma, she can’t help but wonder about the view from the top, where blades the size of semi-trucks spin.
“Out here, you can see the wind turbines from 10 miles away,” she said. “Think about how far you’ll be able to see when you’re at the top.”
So, partly out of curiosity, partly because she wants to be part of something new, the 51-year-old is leaving behind a career of odd jobs and oil-field work.
She’s going back to school to become a wind turbine mechanic — one who’ll have to scale the turbines to make repairs.
Across the country, people like Bryer are looking to the renewable energy sector in hopes its “green-collar jobs” will offer them stability in this shaky economy. Some are signing up for community college or apprenticeship programs that train students to be wind turbine mechanics, solar panel installers, fuel-cell engineers or energy efficiency experts.
Eye on the Environment: Recycler Turns Silicon Scraps into a Product Now in Demand
January 18, 2009 by editor
Filed under Eco News, Jobs, Technology
Despite a worldwide drop in commodity prices and the painful consequences for the recycling industry, some types of recycling continue to thrive. Similarly, despite ongoing struggles over the state budget, some state programs still provide great benefits to local economies.
On Thursday in Camarillo, public and private recyclers will celebrate a milestone in economic development and environmental progress. The California Integrated Waste Management Board recently loaned its 100 millionth dollar through the Recycling Market Development Zone program.
The board, which channels these low-interest (4 percent fixed-rate) loans locally through the Ventura County Recycling Market Development Zone, will commemorate the achievement by joining with ersol Silicon Inc. in hosting an event showcasing the results of one of these loans.
Using a $1.6 million loan, ersol Silicon developed from a local scrap recycling center into an internationally renowned provider of recycled silicon. This loan, given eight years ago, helped the company turn waste from the solar and computer manufacturing industries into material useful to solar panel manufacturers.
Van Jones and the Green Jobs Revolution (Video)
January 17, 2009 by editor
Filed under Featured, Green Collar
Van Jones, President of Green for All and a Nation contributor, came to DC on Thursday to talk to the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming about a Green (and fair) New Deal. Testifying along with Jones were Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and Trenton Mayor Douglas Palmer.
Jones spoke of the “new tools…new training…and new technology” that would “begin to put some green rungs on America’s ladder of opportunity.” He took on the “falsehoods and confusion” spread by “vocal opponents and naysayers” who oppose investing in a new green economy and breaking our dependence on fossil fuels.
Jones set the record straight on the notion that green jobs are a fantasy–”Buck Rogers jobs, or science fiction jobs, or George Jetson jobs”–and pointed to the section of the Green Jobs Act (passed in 2007, but not funded–evidence he said of the need to “move aggressively from inspiration to implementation”) that spells out the exact kinds of job-training programs and industries eligible for support, some of which are: energy efficient and retro-fitting construction jobs; renewable power industry; biofuels industry; and manufacturing of sustainable products using environmentally sustainable materials.
Advanced PV: Design Criteria and NEC Compliance Course (ONLINE)
December 31, 2008 by editor
Filed under Solar Workshops, Training
Advanced PV: Design Criteria and NEC Compliance (Online)
Dates: January 19 - March 1, 2009; March 23 - May 3, 2009; April 27 - June 7, 2009; June 8 - July 19, 2009; July 20 - August 30, 2009; August 24 - October 4, 2009; and September 21 - November 1, 2009
This course provides 60 cumulative hours of training, that may be used towards NABCEP certification purposes
Learn more about designing and installing an NEC code compliant solar electric (photovoltaic) power system without leaving your home. A six-week, Internet-based, online course of instruction with text, online reference materials and Internet resource links. The course is self-paced and there is no set time to be online. Individuals have six weeks to complete all course requirements and can work on the course material whenever they have time. Assignments can be submitted day or night and during the weekends, etc…
This course is designed to follow the PV Design & Installation workshop or the PV Design Online course with the next level of design criteria and maintenance issues. Participants must have completed SEI’s Online PV Design course or the hands-on PV Design & Installation workshop or have permission of the instructor. Read more
Women’s Only Hands-On Photovoltaic Design & Installation Workshop
December 31, 2008 by editor
Filed under Solar Workshops, Training
Women’s Only Photovoltaic Design & Installation
June 1 - 12, 2009 ~ Paonia, Colorado (2 weeks)
Why Women Only?
This workshop is intended to provide women with a supportive learning atmosphere. Many women have little hands-on electrical experience and may be wary of attending a coed course with men who have grown up using power tools. Even women with hands-on experience already working in technical fields find it helpful and rewarding to network with other women who are interested in and/or working in renewable energy.
A PV Design and Installation workshop geared specifically towards women and taught by women. Learn how to use photovoltaic technology to produce electricity from the sun through practical design and installation of PV systems. This two week workshop teaches the technical skills necessary to design and safely install all 3 types solar-electric systems: batteryless grid-tie, grid-tie with battery back-up, and stand-alone systems. This course includes all the same material as the other two week PV Design and Installation workshops (5 days in the classroom and 5 days of hands-on installation in the PV Lab yard). Other presentations include PV in developing countries and discussions on issues such as being a woman in a traditionally male field. Participants have included licensed electricians, engineers, teachers, students and homemakers.
The photovoltaic market world-wide has experienced an enormous 35% growth rate over the last five years. This course was developed for those seeking employment in the booming solar industry or for homeowners looking to install their own systems or hire a contractor. This workshop starts out with the very basics of electricity, and incrementally accelerates students to safely design a code compliant solar-electric system. PV Design and Installation provides a strong foundation in grid-tied, grid-tied with battery backup, and stand-alone systems.
This workshop is certified by the Institute of Sustainable Power (ISP) and fulfills the educational requirements for Category ‘B’ of NABCEP’s Solar PV Installer Certification. This course also qualifies you to take the NABCEP PV Entry Level “Certificate of Knowledge” Exam. The test, which consists of 60 multiple choice questions, takes approximately 2 hours to complete. Test will be administered from 6-8pm on the last day of each PV Design and Installation workshop. The cost of the test is $100. Students must register in advance with the SEI main office (call 970.963.8855). For more information on the NABCEP Entry Level Certification, please see their website at www.nabcep.org.
If you are serious about getting into the solar industry, you should also plan to take Advanced PV: Design Criteria and NEC Compliance. This workshop is intended to follow our first tier of workshops with the next level of design criteria, wire sizing calculations, maintenance issues, troubleshooting skill, and more information on batteries, charge controllers and hybrid system. (Note: You must complete PV Design and Installation BEFORE taking Advanced PV.) Read more
Want Green Jobs For The Nation? Look to California
Instead of waffling on green energy, the US must offer consistent support
The last time the federal government tried to play a large role in stimulating the development of renewable-energy projects, it failed miserably. Instead, states such as California were the ones that ended up jump-starting today’s wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass industries. As President-elect Barack Obama and Congress craft a federal stimulus program package designed to add 2.5 million jobs, many of them green, across the country, they should remember some important lessons from the past.
Federal investments in wind power after the energy crisis of 1973 failed to produce a single commercial wind turbine. It took the political leadership of people such as California Gov. Jerry Brown to put in place state incentives to grow the wind industry from the ground up, instead of from the top down.
Now that Mr. Obama has picked his new energy and environment cabinet appointments, there is hope among many that the US can move forward with a clean power agenda. Given the lack of leadership from the White House over the past eight years, it is refreshing for renewable- energy advocates to hear that Obama doesn’t buy the argument that what’s good for the environment is bad for the economy.
Hands-On Grid-Tied PV Design Workshop in California
December 31, 2008 by editor
Filed under Jobs, Solar Workshops
Grid-Tied PV Design
February 23 - 27, 2009 ~ Fontana, California
The U.S. grid-tied market is the fastest growing sector of the PV market, due in part to net metering laws and state and federal incentives. Many businesses focus solely on batteryless grid-tied installations. Companies are looking to hire people with the educational background for installation, sales, and design positions. This course uses curriculum from the PV Design and Installation workshop but offers a stronger focus on the batteryless grid-tied market and will not cover battery-based systems. If you know that you will be working in an urban area with a focus on batteryless grid-tied installations, the Grid-tied PV class is for you.
Then, if you are serious about getting into the solar industry, you should also plan to take Advanced PV: Design Criteria and NEC Compliance (face-to-face or online). The Advanced PVworkshop is intended to follow our first tier of workshops with the next level of design criteria, wire sizing calculations, maintenance issues, troubleshooting skill, and more information on batteries, charge controllers and hybrid system. (Please note that students from the Grid-Tied PV workshop will need to complete supplementary reading on stand-alone systems before continuing on to PV Lab Week or Advanced PV: Design Criteria and NEC Compliance.)
Hands-On Solar Hot Water Workshop in California
December 31, 2008 by editor
Filed under Solar Workshops, Training
Solar Hot Water Workshop
February 18 - 20, 2009 ~ Fontana, California
Participants in this workshop will learn the theory, design considerations and installation techniques necessary to install and maintain a solar domestic hot water system. Passive solar water heaters, drainback systems, antifreeze systems and photovoltaic powered systems are all discussed in-depth, as well as an introduction to pool heating and space heating systems. Solar collectors, mounting systems, pumps, blowers, controls, storage tanks, heat exchangers, maintenance and more are subjects covered with each type of system as appropriate.
Also included are safety considerations, code compliance, system sizing and solar collector per formance in a variety of climates and applications.
Obama’s Department of Green Labor
December 23, 2008 by admin
Filed under Green Collar, Op-Ed
President-elect Barack Obama with California Rep. Hilda Solis (D-El Monte), his pick for Secretary of Labor.
In announcing that he intends Hilda Solis to be his Secretary of Labor, President-elect Barack Obama made good on his campaign pledge of change: Not only will this choice likely bring relief from the anti-union and anti-worker policies of his predecessor, but it will also reinforce that environmental issues will be key to ensuring good employment.
Congresswoman Solis, representing California’s 32nd District since 2000, has distinguished herself by her support for labor rights and environmental justice causes. Specifically, she has been a strong advocate for the Employee Free Choice Act and for green collar jobs - jobs that protect the environment and offer decent pay and working conditions.
Introducing her in Chicago on December 19, Obama said, “For the past eight years, the Department of Labor has not lived up to its role either as an advocate for hardworking families or as an arbiter of fairness in relations between labor and management. That will change when Hilda Solis is Secretary of Labor. Under her leadership, I am confident that the Department of Labor will once again stand up for working families.”
