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Journeyman wireman Walt White, left, third year apprentice Tom "Tick" Margitish and fourth-year apprentice Anthony Lee are Local 34 members employed by Foster-Jacobs.

The objective, International President Edwin D. Hill said in a letter to all inside and outside construction locals last year, "is to see that our local unions are prepared to market their members as qualified and capable of installing photovoltaic systems."

And more of them are. Local 34 in Peoria, Illinois, for example, has just completed work on the new Cuba High School.

One way to establish that IBEW members with training in photovoltaics are qualified is the new testing and certification available from the North American Board Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP). So far, its success has been overwhelming. When NABCEP gave its first exam last October, the number of test sites had to be expanded to accommodate the flood of more than 100 applicants from 30 different states.

Another test was given in April 2004 and requests for applications for future tests can be made to the New York office of NABCEP, 10 Hermes Road, Suite 400, Malta, New York, 12020. The prerequisites of experience and/or education are posted at www.nabcep.org. The IBEW is exploring the possibility of the test being recognized and available in Canada.

"There are seven combinations of training and experience that allow candidates to sit for the PV Installers Certification Exam," Hill said while urging locals, their signatory contractors and their JATCs to accelerate photovoltaic training. He also noted that "the NJATC is well positioned to assist locals with implementing training."