State's solar industry heats up
Firms scramble to hire workers in growing field
Gargi Chakrabarty
Published June 13, 2008 at 10:35 p.m.
Ken Papaleo / The Rocky
Matthew Hickman, right, an electrician, answers questions during an interview Thursday at REC Solar with Cary Hayes, left, sales manager, and Jason Zink, operations manager, in Westminster. REC plans to hire 10 to 15 employees.
Colorado's solar industry serving homes and businesses is scrambling to keep pace with growing demand.
On-site solar, or panels installed mostly on rooftops, will jump fourfold this year in Xcel Energy's service territory alone - to 18 megawatts from 4 megawatts in the past year.
Most companies are hiring people with little or no solar experience to fill new positions, training them on the job.
"The industry has been around for a long time, but now that it is growing so quickly, there are very few people with five years of experience and even fewer with 10 or 15 years' experience," said Blake Jones, co-owner and president of Namaste Solar in Boulder.
Namaste employs about 45 people, roughly half of whom honed their solar skills after landing the job.
A trained work force is critical to the sustained growth of any industry, and Colorado is behind the curve when it comes to solar compared with California or Texas, for example.
Even so, with more than 15,400 employees in 2007, Colorado ranks No. 4 in the nation in renewable energy and energy research employment, according to a recent report by the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp.
Namaste Solar hired two employees recently and plans to hire a half-dozen more before the end of the year.
Competitor REC Solar, which is expanding into commercial installations, plans to hire 10 to 15 employees in the coming months.
Matthew Hickman interviewed this month for a construction manager's position at REC Solar's office in Westminster.
A tall man dressed in a black T-shirt and jeans, Hickman stretched his legs and swiveled in his chair - nothing in his face giving away the fact that he had zero experience in the solar industry.
"Tell us why you are interested in solar," asked Cary Hayes, sales manager at REC Solar, Inc. who picked Hickman's resume from the dozens the company received for the position.
An electrician with Colorado Railcar Manufacturing, Hickman offered: "Colorado has a lot of sun, and I think solar has potential for growth with the high price of energy.
"I don't understand just yet all the technological aspects of solar . . . but I don't think it will be outside my grasp to understand," he said.
A solar eclipse, however, could befall the industry.
A federal law that allows solar-project owners to pocket 30 percent of the project cost in an investment tax credit is set to expire at the end of this year. If Congress doesn't renew the credit, the industry would expect to see a net loss of 40,000 jobs and $8 billion in missed economic investment, said Rhone Resch, president of the Solar Energy Industries Association.
Closer to home, Xcel's customer rebate program for on-site solar, which pays nearly half the cost of panel installations, is tapering off.
Xcel's plan calls for rebates for 18 megawatts this year, 12 megawatts in 2009 and only 3 megawatts in 2011.
Xcel plans to augment on-site solar with utility-scale projects, spokesman Tom Henley said.
"If the ITC and Xcel rebates were gone tomorrow, our market will be gone tomorrow, too," Namaste's Jones said. "Subsidies must go away gradually, but in such a way that we accomplish the original goal of an orderly, sustainable solar market."
chakrabartyg@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2976
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June 15, 2008
1:54 p.m.
Suggest removal
greenleaf writes:
Squatch,
You are unbelievable! I have found 5 separate treads where you have pasted this identical posting with all its illogic and misspellings! Do you really think this is so pithy and smart that its worth that kind of exposure? I truly hope not! You don't even customize it for the article. Solar has the potential to displace some oil consumption when electric cars and plug-in hybrids become available but for now it diplaces natural gas and coal.
This article isn't about oil! Its about Real, high paying jobs being created in Colorado by the young and vibrant solar industry.
June 15, 2008
4:34 p.m.
Suggest removal
pak writes:
As solar and wind turbines work only 33% of the time,think of the natural gas needed to be dispatched when they quit working. Since we import 20% of the nation's natural gas, think of all the countrys getting rich off the gas we buy cause we are installing solar panels. Since Canada is sending less gas to the USA, think of the countrys that hate us that are selling us their LNG gas.
Then think of all the USA coal we could be burning to produce baseload power and save on imported gas. Lastly, think of the 150 coal fired power plants built since 2005 in China and 186,000 mw of coal fired power in china built in 2006 and 2007. Then think of China kicking our butts economically.
June 15, 2008
5:34 p.m.
Suggest removal
greenleaf writes:
Pak,
While it is true that we can't count on solar and wind to supply all of needs, they should be part of the mix. Your statement about them not working 2 thirds of the time could lead a casual reader to think that is always the same period of time. That certainly isn't the case as the wind frequently blows during the night-time as well as the day.
Until concentrating solar plants come on line which by using thermal storage allow solar to work into the evening, solar's main value to the grid will be during times of peak load. Its during hot, sunny summer days when air conditioners are working overtime that it has been "all hands on deck" for power production, with "brownouts" resulting when there isn't been sufficient capacity. This is when solar "shines" (pun totally intended). We can prevent a lot of air, and water pollution by utilizing solar power during times of peak load. We wouldn't need additional coal plants just to supply peak load requirements. We wouldn't need to strip mine as much coal or drill for as much natural gas just to supply energy at times of greatest need.
I have a 3kwh PV system on my roof. It might be powering your air conditioner as I write( I don't use air conditioning myself as it wastes far too much energy).