IREC issues ISPQ Accreditation and Certification awards.
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Press Release Summary:
IREC announced that 17 awards of Institute for Sustainable Power Quality accreditation/certification have been presented in first quarter. Candidates include Electric Education Center, Solar Living Institute, Infinite Solar Inc., David Compaan of AltE University, MREA, Clay Sterling, Matt Parks, Mark Morgan, Andy DeRocher, Christopher LaForge, Christine Hulet, Edward Zinthefer, Kurt Nelson, and Chris Folk. To achieve award, each candidate has gone through comprehensive application/audit process.
Original Press Release:
IREC Busy Processing ISPQ Credentials
17 candidates accredited and certified in Q1 2010
The Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) is pleased to announce that seventeen awards of the Institute for Sustainable Power Quality (ISPQ) accreditation and certification have been presented in the first quarter of 2010.
Electric Education Center has been awarded Continuing Education Provider Accreditation for their five-day Solar PV Entry Level Design and Installation Course. The Electric Education Center (EEC) has been in business since 2003. The owner/president, Mr. Richard Van Wert, is a well known electric industry leader in Philadelphia and neighboring states (DE, NJ and MD), and a frequent presenter at various conferences across Southeastern Pennsylvania. Richard is a Certified Instructor for the State of New Jersey, approved to teach the Continuing Education Code Courses as required by Rules and Regulations N.J.A.C. 13:31-1.7. The instructor and curriculum are certified by Pennsylvania State Department of Labor and Industry.
Solar Living Institute has been awarded approval to add its online PV course, Solar PV Design and Installation eCourse, to its current Training Program Accreditation. On February 19, 2009, Solar Living Institute (SLI) was awarded IREC's ISPQ Training Program Accreditation for two courses, PV Design and Installation and Advanced Photovoltaics. The courses corresponded to NABCEP's entry level objectives and installer task analyses. SLI then began to convert the content of the PV Design and Installation course into a format for online delivery. The process took nearly ten months including beta testing. Registration opened October 15, 2009. There are two course tracks - instructor-supported and self-paced.
Infinite Solar Inc. has been awarded Continuing Education Provider Accreditation for its5-day Entry Level Solar Thermal Installation and Design Course. Infinite Solar, Inc. was established in 2008 to service the demands of the green energy industry. In 2009, Infinite Solar founded the first Solar School in the Philadelphia area to facilitate the education, certification and networking among companies and individuals who currently work and would like to work in the solar and wind energy fields. Previously, in August 2009, IREC approved Infinite Solar's application for accreditation for its five-day Entry Level Solar PV Installation and Design Course.
David Compaan of AltE University, has been awarded IREC ISPQ Affiliated Instructor Certification. David teaches the PV 301 Basic Photovoltaics and Site Assessment for Installers Course; the PV 302 Intermediate Photovoltaic Design and Installation Course; and the PV 303 Advanced Photovoltaic Design and Installation Course. He also trains sales personnel at the AltE Store.
The Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA) has been awarded Training Program Accreditation for its courses in Photovoltaics and Solar Thermal. Their courses in photovoltaics include Basic PV, PV Site Assessor, Commercial PV Site Assessor, Intermediate PV, PV Design & Installation Lab, Advanced Lead Installer - Residential PV Installation; the courses in solar hot water include Solar Domestic Hot Water, SDHW Site Assessor, Commercial Solar Water Site Assessor, Solar Space Heating Systems, Solar Water Heating Installation Lab, Advanced Lead Installer-Residential Solar Thermal Installation, and Solar Thermal Design. The MREA has been offering courses in renewable energy since 2000 and were first accredited for PV courses in 2003.
The Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA) has been awarded Continuing Education Provider Accreditation for its courses Introduction to Wind Energy Systems and Small Wind Site Assessor. The MREA (Midwest Renewable Energy Association) has been offering courses in renewable energy since 2000 and began including courses in wind in 2005.
Clay Sterling has been awarded a renewal of his IREC ISPQ Affiliated Instructor Certification for photovoltaics in affiliation with MREA. Mr. Sterling is the Education Director at the MREA. He has experience teaching in a wide variety of renewable energy topics, and has developed programs, workshops and curriculum. Clay was originally awarded ISPQ Instructor Certification for PV in 2004.
Clay Sterling has been awarded IREC's ISPQ Affiliated Instructor Certification for small wind in affiliation with the MREA. He has been the Education Director at the MREA for eight years. In addition to teaching, Clay has developed curriculum and programs for teaching at MREA; helping it transition from offering a handful of workshops per year to offering hundreds of workshops per year across the Midwest region. Clay has also served on the NABCEP Small Wind Committee and the Wisconsin Focus on Energy PV Advisory Group.
Matt Parks has been awarded IREC's ISPQ Affiliated Instructor Certification for photovoltaics in affiliation with the MREA. Matt, a Master Electrician in Wisconsin, became a Master Instructor for the NJATC in 2004. He has taught electrical apprenticeship courses for 14 years, including AC and DC theory, semiconductors, conduit bending, NEC calculations from conductor sizing to conduit fill, all of which directly relate to the safe and legal installation of PV systems. He has taken Basic, Site Assessor, Intermediate and Photovoltaic Design and Installation lab classes from the MREA and has been the lead installer on several PV installations in Wisconsin.
Mark Morgan has been awarded IREC's ISPQ Affiliated Instructor Certification for courses in Solar Thermal in affiliation with the MREA. Mark has been teaching renewable energy for more than 15 years. In addition to being an instructor for the MREA, he is also an instructor for North House Folk School and has been a guest instructor at Northland College, Edgewood College and Kankakee Community College. Mark teaches both renewable energy and alternative/sustainable construction.
Andy DeRocher has been awarded IREC's ISPQ Affiliated Instructor Certification for Solar Thermal in affiliation with the MREA. Andy has been in renewable energy and energy monitoring as an engineer and installer since he graduated from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 2004 with a degree in civil engineering. His focus has been primarily on solar thermal since 2006, and he currently works for a solar energy design/build contractor in Madison, WI where his roles include solar thermal sales, engineering, project management, and installing. Andy is a NABCEP certified solar thermal installer and an MREA certified site assessor. He serves on the solar thermal technical advisory committee for the Focus on Energy program in Wisconsin and has been teaching at MREA for two years.
Christopher LaForge has been awarded IREC's ISPQ Affiliated Master Trainer for Photovoltaics in affiliation with the MREA. Christopher has studied renewable energy and PV for 23 years. For 21 years, he has been the owner/operator of Great Northern Solar, a renewable energy company that designs solar, wind and hydro powered systems, as well as installation and maintenance services for solar electric systems they design. For 17 years, he has taught PV installation and has designed, installed and maintained more than 250 large and small systems, and supported a wholesale market of installers he has trained. Christopher is a NABCEP-certified PV installer, and is a current member of the NABCEP Board of Directors. He has been a contributor to Home Power Magazine since 1994, was editor of the MREA ReNews from 1994-1997, has been a columnist for Countryside Magazine since 2000, and was on the MREA Board of Directors from 1997-2002.
Christine Hulet has been awarded IREC's ISPQ Affiliated Instructor Certification for Photovoltaics in affiliation with the MREA. In addition to teaching for MREA for 14 years, Christine is co-owner of Engineering Services Company, an energy conservation and renewable energy consulting installation contractor, located in Southern Wisconsin. She has a background in education and engineering spanning decades. Christine is also a past Executive Director for the MREA. She has received various recognitions in her solar career, including the prestigious ASES Rebecca Vories Award (2001) and she was awarded 'Outstanding Renewable Energy Volunteer' in June 2001 for her work on the June 2000 combined ASES/MREA event.
Edward Zinthefer has been awarded IREC's ISPQ Affiliated Master Trainer for Photovoltaics in affiliation with the MREA. Edward has two decades experience as an instructor, first as a drill instructor in the U.S. Army Reserves, and for the latter part of his 23-year stint in the Reserves, he trained other drill instructors. In 2003, Edward, a master electrician, founded Arch Electric, and has been installing solar PV and solar thermal systems since 2006. He has taught basic PV, intermediate PV and lead PV installer training at MREA since 2008. He is also a part-time instructor at Lakeshore Technical College, teaching solar electricity for homeowners since 2008. In 2007, Edward became a NABCEP certified PV installer, one of the first electricians in Wisconsin to acquire this certification.
Kurt Nelson has been awarded IREC's ISPQ Affiliated Instructor Certification for Photovoltaics in affiliation with the MREA. Kurt, a founding member of the MREA, has taught at MREA for 20 years. Through his company, SOLutions, he specializes in the design and construction of home sized solar electric and solar hot water systems. Kurt has more than 12 years experience helping owner/builders learn about and install renewable energy systems, and has constructed several passive solar homes. In 2005, he became a NABCEP certified PV installer, and was recertified for a second three-year period in the Spring of 2008. Kurt is a co-author of Power from the Sun with Dan Chiras and Robert Aram (http://energybulletin.net/50467).
Cris Folk has been awarded IREC's ISPQ Affiliated Instructor Certification for Photovoltaics in affiliation with the MREA. Cris's instructor experience began in 1982 while he was in the U.S. Navy. Since 1999, he has been an instructor in electronics and industrial maintenance at Madison Area Technical College, and in 2006, he began teaching wind and solar topics for MREA. Chris is also a solar hot water system performance inspector for Wisconsin's Focus on Energy program.
To achieve the award of Accreditation or Certification, each of these candidates has gone through a comprehensive application and audit process. During IREC's ISPQ accreditation and certification evaluation all documentation is examined and verified through an audit. Each of the recipients listed above who has been awarded Accreditation as a Training Program has also gone through a thorough on-site audit of its facilities, equipment, and quality management systems. The IREC ISPQ Award Committee makes the final determination to grant status or not based on the auditor's report and scrutiny of the candidate's material.
The Interstate Renewable Energy Council is the North American Licensee for the ISPQ International Standard #01022 for the Accreditation and Certification of Renewable Energy Training Programs. IREC, a non-profit organization, is responsible for the full accreditation and certification cycle including processing applications, assigning registered auditors, awarding the credential, and maintaining all records of applicants, candidates and awardees.
A listing of all ISPQ Accreditation & Certification Awardees can be viewed on the IREC website.
For more information about IREC's ISPQ Accreditation and Certification Programs, please visit www.ispqusa.org or write to info@ispqusa.org.
