Shift to a higher gear clean energy new training guarantees aligned with jobs

Welcome you at the confusing and somewhat chaotic world of credentialing! In the past month result a marathon undertaking, the Interstate Council for renewable energy (IREC) two national milestones in our commitment to the credentialing in renewable energy and energy efficiency. Our goal - standardized quality training with employer demand - training results that result in marketable professional skills matched.

Together, these services offer new guarantees for consumers of energy, industry, students, and Government. We released IRECs new standard for training programs that offer certificates in the renewable energy and energy efficiency space, and we started the accreditation program, together with our partner of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to demonstrate compliance with these requirements.

After 24 months of working with a vocal and balanced Committee of experts; ask the public for three rounds of comments on the standard; Development of a rating system with ANSI through holes up on several elements required; keep a pilot study; and clarifying definitions - we now use a standard and an accreditation process exists. We were damn sure that this epic effort had the highest priority value in building a working with training for safety and quality. We not afraid, for one minute. We enjoyed the lively discussions. We added the tedious details in attack. And we pushed the envelope further. Here is the reason.

Growth in the area see clean energy we sometimes not so quickly, like us, but in any case growth would like. Grid tied photovoltaic systems continue their rise, as U.S. wind capacity does. Expected doubling is spending on energy efficiency programs in the next 12 years. All of this leads to more employment. We have a lot of training around tuned for industry needed skills and some not-so-good training leading country - a good education to unclear learning outcomes. We still facing the misrepresentation certificates as a mark of professional certification. There is a lack of consistency and a variety of confusion.

IREC 14732 training standard offers a clear way through this confusion by laying down the rules for the program management, educational processes (instructional design and evaluation) and technical content (skills and knowledge taught), with the result, leading to a market value of certificate.

What is the market value? Spent hours discussing this. Basically, we want to see someone who has gone through the training learned marketable and job-related skills. If you go through training, and provide you with a "Go to certificate" has to mean something. A certificate of attendance cut not when we are talking about job readiness and market value. IREC standard 14732 and the ANSI-IREC accreditation program is a step up from IRECs ISPQ 01022 standard and regulation. This new standard and assessment that process that offer IREC ISPQ program does and much more. Both credentials are a hard-earned seal of approval by a third party, but to further raised the bar with this next chapter in IRECs commitment to quality assurance.

For more information about IRECs, visit unique credentialing program that accredited educational institutions and certified instructor in the renewable energy and energy efficiency fields, www.irecusa.org.

Written by the annual workforce development Institute Conference / American Association of community colleges

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The Solyndra standard: on loan guarantees, military spending, and clean energy policy

This is the second test failed in a row for the WaveRider - an aircraft technology, which the military close to $300 million on the development between spent already has. And this is only on a program. We have worked on Hypersonic Flight programs since the 1960?s.

But even with more than a quarter billion dollars in hardware now sits in the Pacific Ocean (small change for the Pentagon) not we have heard a view from anyone in Washington on the crash. No calls for an investigation of the Congress, no outrage over hundreds of millions of dollars fall in 15 seconds, no public floggings mod Guide.

But hell, if a few innovative clean energy companies receive crash after support from the Federal Government, they are used as a tool by the national Republican party, to make the idea of strategic investments in Cleantech in question.

It is almost a year since Solyndra, the solar producers who receive a loan guarantee for $527 million in bankruptcy. Since then, House lawmakers have held 12 hearings and meet official, bought more than 300,000 documents, two Subpenas, and probably more than $1 million for the investigation issued.

What did they find?

"No evidence of wrong-doing," reported Bloomberg BusinessWeek.

The Washington Post went further in a recent study: "the records are not produced, that someone under pressure the Department of energy the Solyndra loan used to approve participants in favour of political."

This is not to say that we from the bankruptcy of Solyndra and other clean energy companies should shrug. Congress is mission to determine whether the tax makes sense - issued and throws you a view of the causes and consequences of such incidents is important for transparency.

But as we predicted when the Solyndra story first broke out, these studies have turned into a political SideShow. A year later, based on political Insider offers GOP legislators demonstrated, not their theory that decisions to offer that to clean energy loan guarantees. Still Theycontinue call to extend more documents and may have additional hearings, in the hope, the meme of "Nepotism" Solyndra until after the election.

Representative Jim Jordan (R - OH) which was most stump about the GOP's plan for Solyndra: press the manufactured scandal until November and then put it after the election.

E & E News reported Jordan's comments in March:

For all the talk about possible "Smoking Guns" may some wrongdoing on the part of the Obama management on Solyndra or other Department of energy loans, show that the House Republican confirmed yesterday that several GOP on the subject of probes are in some ways a game for votes on election day.

"Ultimately we it stop on election day, hopefully. " "And attention to these things will help the voters and the nature of the decision which I hope will make the country, which helps them as they assess who they are for in November votes."

That's exactly how it is to play. The politically manufactured outrage about Solyndra to an all-out campaign made - with tens of millions of dollars, issued season this election specifically for targeting Federal renewable energy investment. Mitt Romney has jumped on the bandwagon, with Solyndra as a key part of his campaign.

And here is the really amazing separate: while supporting tens of thousands of jobs, the credit guarantee program is expected that $2 billion less cost than Congress, according to an analysis by Herb Allison, John McCain's former National Chairman finance scheduled.

Meanwhile in the midst of the Solyndra saga we accept passing a $300 million aircraft errors, without batting an eye. No outrage. No sustained political campaign. It's just another day test our military toys.

Why? Because we often do not see programs such as "Failure" in the political arena. We would never use a failure as an excuse to leave investment in new technologies. Most politicians accept losses in the R & D of military spending, because after all, the long-term benefits are potentially so important for national defense and for the development of technologies for civilian use.

We should always aim to make programs as efficient and cost-effective as possible. But a few bankruptcy clean energy companies, representing a fraction of the cost of the programme is no excuse for the task of the Federal investment in clean energy - a strategically important sector which is one of the greatest drivers of the business in this century.

Expect Oh, not anyone publicly this admit. As the campaign unfolds season, political leaders are all too willing to practice the Solyndra standard.

This article appeared originally on the climate progress and was republished with permission.

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