Unwilling to watch the growth of the state's solar power industry from the sidelines, Utah software architect Mark Price started preparing two years ago to enter the alternative-energy arena.

Along with business partner Brian Bowers, Price took classes at Salt Lake Community College to learn how to design and install solar power systems. Together they founded Wind Springs Energy.

"We both wanted to be more than spectators," Price said. "We felt it deep in our bones that this was something we should do."

Yet Price's dream is imperiled. Utah regulators, at the urging of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), are considering doing away with a state license that allows nonelectricians to install solar panel arrays on homes and business.

Eliminating the license could create an upheaval in the state's solar power industry, said Sarah Baldwin of Utah Clean Energy, an advocacy group promoting the use of renewable energy systems.

"It would prevent a lot of people from working who are viewed as fully qualified to install solar power systems. And with the growth that is being planned — Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County want to have 10 megawatts of solar installed by 2015, or about 30 times what is in place — there is concern it could create a shortage of installers," she said.

Although some in the solar power industry are worried the union merely wants to grab a bigger share of the solar power business, the IBEW's Carl Brailsford said the bottom line is that installing solar panels is "electric work."

From IBEW's point of view, allowing nonelectricians to do electrical work puts the lives and safety of the public at risk. "So those systems should and need to be installed by qualified, licensed electricians."

Five years ago, the state didn't have a separate license for solar system installers. But at the request of several legislators, the Utah Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing in 2006 established what is known as an S-202 license.

It allows nonelectricians to install solar arrays up to and including the inverter, which converts the direct-current electricity produced by solar panels to alternating current — the type of electricity found on power grids and in homes.

To qualify for the S-202 license, applicants must have passed an examination from the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP). The certification — there is a $100 application fee, with the exam costing $300 — is considered by many as the solar power industry's gold standard in that the test is extremely difficult, with many electricians even failing it the first time.

"What is sad is that this dispute is coming at a time when the solar power industry in Utah is sprinting ahead," said Mark Richards, business development director for Intermountain Winds & Solar in Woods Cross.

Tim Ularich, who has taught SLCC's basic and advanced solar photovoltaic installation courses that are designed to prepare students to sit for the NABCEP exam said there are now approximately 60 students enrolled in those courses. "I'm sure it is creating a lot of uncertainty for them."

Brailsford concedes the NABCEP examination is a good test. "But it is just that — a test," he said. "There are a lot of other good tests out there, as well. But passing doesn't mean you have the experience or the training needed to safely install a solar system."

The IBEW is supporting elimination of the state's solar installation license over the next four years. And that, Brailsford said, will allow those who want to install solar power systems the time to become licensed electricians.

Classes to become a licensed electrician cost several thousand dollars but students also spend a lot of time training as apprentices and they get paid for the work they perform.

Price, who is still working toward qualifying to take the NABCEP exam, said spending four additional years qualifying to become an electrician isn't something he wants to consider.

Nor does he think the idea would appeal to most others preparing for the NABCEP exam. "I'm sure many have other jobs, and spending several more years training to become an electrician would be real difficult."

Dirk Burton, a member and former chairman of the state's Electrical Licensing Board, said those on both sides of the debate have raised valid points.

"Fortunately, both sides agree that the people doing the work need to be qualified. The challenge is to find some way to accommodate everyone," he said. "And maybe that can be accomplished by requiring additional training for everyone involved."

The organization behind the NABCEP exam is aware of the Utah dispute but is neutral, said Timothee Neron-Bancel, senior manager for business development. "There has been a long-standing debate on who should be installing solar power systems."

Founded in 2003, the organization to date has certified about 1,100 solar installers nationwide, including about two dozen in Utah. "And that number is growing at a rate of about 25 percent each six months," Neron-Bancel said.

As a voluntary organization that issues credentials — one that requires those who seek its certification to have experience as the lead installer on at least two solar power systems — it isn't keen on the idea of its certification being a licensing requirement in Utah or anywhere else.

"We don't want to be a requirement for anything," he said. "Last year in Maine, they adopted a requirement that installers had to be NABCEP certified. But they only had four in the state. And we certainly don't want to be a bottleneck for the industry."

Still, the organization's credentials are widely respected.

Some states even offer increased incentives if a home or business owner uses a certified installer to design and put together their solar power systems, he said. "And that is our preferred way for our credentials to be recognized."

Price said he is anxiously watching the debate. "If the S-202 license goes away, it will basically mean that we'll never be given the chance to install the systems we design. And that would make us little more than salesmen, which is something we don't want to become."

steve@sltrib.com —

What's next?

The Utah Attorney General's office has been asked to provide state regulators at the Department of Occupational and Professional Licensing with an opinion on what constitutes "electrical work" under state law. Depending upon how it rules, the AG's findings could lend support to either the IBEW or supporters of the S-202 license.