Milwaukee Searches for Solar Contractors

By Sean Ryan

Milwaukee wants its hometown builders to reap the benefits of a surge in solar energy, but the contractors that do that work are from Madison.

Hiring Madison talent both increases project costs and sends cash to out-of-town businesses, said Ann Beier, director of Milwaukee’s Office of Environmental Sustainability.

“We want the jobs here,” she said. “It’s pure and simple. We want Milwaukee residents to do the work.”

But Milwaukee doesn’t have contractors with the necessary certifications to draw public money for solar energy projects. Focus on Energy, the Madison-based group that offers grants for solar projects, requires contractors have experience and education before installing photovoltaic panels.

Most Focus on Energy-sponsored projects use Madison contractors, said Niels Wolter, solar electric program manager for the organization.

“Of course, that adds to the cost (in Milwaukee),” he said, “and of course Milwaukee wants to keep its money in the city.”

Focus on Energy requires contractors to take weeklong solar- installation courses before working on a project, Wolter said. Then, by the time contractors have worked on a maximum of nine projects, they must get certified by the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners Inc.

Banks, like Focus on Energy, don’t like financing projects if the contractor installing the panels is not certified, said Don Albinger, vice president of renewable energy solutions for Johnson Controls Inc., Milwaukee. But he said there are not many classes to prepare contractors to take the exams.

“Is it widespread?” he asked. “No, but that’s what we’re trying to build out.”

The U.S. Department of Energy just gave Milwaukee $200,000 and access to the agency’s engineers to encourage solar power projects. The city plans to use about $80,000 of that to hire someone to educate contractors to get certified, Beier said.

Wolter welcomed the Milwaukee program because the few solar classes offered in the state sell out immediately.

“There’s so much interest in the solar market,” he said. “And electrical (contractors), their business is slowing down as the economy slows down.”

Full Spectrum Solar, Madison, has more work than it can handle, said project engineer Mark Warnick. Businesses are flocking to solar panels right now because a federal tax credit for companies that install the panels was set to expire at the end of the year, he said.

As a company with workers who were certified the first year NABCEP offered the title, Full Spectrum is in a good position, he said.

Warnick last week predicted there will be plenty of solar work to go around if the federal tax credit is extended, and that’s just what happened when the federal bailout bill included an eight-year credit extension.

With demand on the rise, contractors that gain experience now will have an edge when the market blows up, Albinger said.

“Every contractor needs to differentiate themselves, and the early movers are the ones that are going to win at this game because they need to get experience,” he said. “There will be less opportunity to differentiate yourself in the future. We believe the early bird gets the worm on this one.”

Originally published by Sean Ryan.

(c) 2008 Daily Reporter (Milwaukee). Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.