Solar Jobs

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Solar Jobs

• Spencer Krum
• July 15, 2009
• Chem 410 Solar Tech and Ed.
• Dr. C. Wamser

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Germany
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Future Projections

• European Photovoltaic Industry Association
• By year 2020
• 1 Billion Homes powered by solar PV
• 2.3 Million full-time solar jobs
• Gregory McNamee, solar guru
• By year 2010
• 1.6 GW solar PV in USA
• 9.4 GW solar PV on Planet Earth

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Spencer's Five Categories

• Solar Sales
• Solar Installation
• Solar production
• Solar evangelism
• Solar research

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Solar Sales

• Role Customer pays solar sales for PV or Solar
  thermal. Solar sales buys PV and/or solar thermal
  modules and panels from solar industry. Solar
  sales pays solar installers to place PV.

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Subdivisions of Solar Sales

• Marketing
• Door to Door, Mass mailing, Mass calling, events,
  marketing to businesses and colleges, etc.
• Customer relations
• Go to potential customer's home, interview, share
  knowledge, look at the power bill, make the sale,
  move the sale forward, get on the roof and check
  the sun power. After install provide continuing
  support for customer.

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Subdivisions of Solar Sales

• Credit People
• Learn and understand energy credits available
  through bodies such as the Energy Trust of Oregon
  as well as Federal and State tax credits. Master
  this information as it changes, predict where it
  is headed, educate customer relations/marketing
  team.
• Administrative
• Business Majors, run things, make and keep
  company profitable

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Solar Sales Job Posting

• Handout 1 European Country Manager - Amsterdam

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Solar Installation

• Role Get PV/Solar Thermal array installed and
  operational exactly as customer and sales team
  agreed.

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Subdivision of Solar Installation

• Unskilled manual labor.
• Loading/unloading truck. Driving truck. Carrying
  panels. Installing panel mounts into roof, etc.
• Skilled labor not related to PV/Solar thermal.
• Heavy equipment ? Crane. Solar installers could
  own their own crane or rent it, depends on scale.
  For atypical solar installations specialty
  skilled construction workers will be needed.

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Subdivision of Solar Installation

• Skilled labor related to PV/Solar Thermal.
• Must understand exactly how to set up panel,
  correct angle and orientation, correct connection
  to transformer, correct circuits in array will
  keep voltage and current right at the 'sweet
  spot'. Need government permission and utility
  permission to hook up PV to main power grid.
  Provide instruction to customer on operation of
  PV ? What the buttons on the transformer do, etc.

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Solar Installation Job Posting

• Handout 2 Crew Lead

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Solar Production

• Role Make what goes on the roof. Shorten as much
  as possible the distance between developments
  made by the solar researchers and the products
  being sold by solar sales.

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Subdivision of Solar Production

• Administration
• Managers, Business majors, keep the company
  making money, IT crew, keeping track of the
  competition, marketing panels to solar sales,
  going to conferences, giving away samples,
  growing the company.
• Assembly work (unskilled)
• Test panel with multimeter. Place panel in
  artificial sunlight to test. Hit buttons.

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Subdivision of Solar Production

• Assembly workers (skilled)
• Check important things ? thin film thickness. Saw
  silicon wafers with diamond band saw. Grow huge
  silicon crystal from molten silicon. Compare and
  contrast differences in technique and gradually
  change and evolve the assembly line, aim for
  constant improvement in quality and efficiency.

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Job Posting in Solar Production

• Handout 3 Facilities Chemical Engineer

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Solar Evangelist

• Role Fill the public with the solar spirit.

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Solar Researcher

• Role To increase the efficiency of solar systems
  and decrease their cost, while developing novel
  ways to harness the power of the sun.

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Subdivision of SolarResearchers
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Subdivision of Solar Research
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Subdivision of Solar Research

• University Based Research
• Professors, Pre/Post Docs, Undergrads
• School funded and grant funded Lab.
• meeting of minds
• Less pressure to produce results.
• Corporation Based Research
• Research Scientists
• Funded by Loans and Capitalism
• Enormous pressure to produce results.

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Job Posting Solar Research

• Handout 4 Global Technology Leader
• Handout 5 -

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NABCEP

• North American Board of Certified Energy
  Practitioners
• Trade association organized to oversee standards.
• Minimum requirements
• 18 years
• Experience prerequisites 2-4 yrs.
• Sign code of ethics
• Fees
• Written exam

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The Moral

• Anyone can work in solar.
• BUT ? Education gives much greater job choice.
• Most of the jobs in solar require at least a
  bachelors degree. BUT not all do and many of the
  jobs that require only a high school diploma can
  be used as experience in lieu of a bachelors, if
  enough time is put in.

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Conclusion

• At first I thought I would be able to get into
  solar installation easily, and now I know that
  isn't true.
• I believe my place in solar is to study hard and
  go to graduate school so that I can do solar
  research.
• Thanks!