Advocates of Solar Power See Bright Future

Advocates of Solar Power See Bright Future; Electricians Learn About Technology As Costs Decrease

Jul 20 - Columbian

Solar energy boosters see broad public support, declining production costs and a financial commitment by Northwest utilities to harness the power of the sun.

Now, they've got a trained work force to make it happen.

A series of three solar panels sits atop the roof of the NECA- IBEW Electrical Training Center in north Portland. On a sun- splashed morning last week, union electricians offered a tour of their new rooftop array of photovoltaic cells.

So far, the center has trained about 200 electricians in solar installations.

One solar array was installed two years ago, and two additional arrays went into service to coincide with the National Solar Energy Conference last week in Portland.

Although the solar panels generate enough power to electrify a single home only slightly reducing the center's average monthly $4,000 electric bill training center directors see a role in stoking the demand for more solar panel installations.

Apprentice and journeymen electricians will be able to learn by pulling them apart and reinstalling the panels.

"It's not a typical installation for most electricians," said Ken Fry, executive director of the center. "A contractor is going to feel comfortable to know that we have the people skilled enough to do the job."

The training center, at 16021 N.E. Airport Way, is sponsored by the National Electrical Contractors Association and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 48.

Curt Stephens, industrial services manager for Dynalectric in Portland, said that even though solar power right now is "mostly attractive to the green people," the company expects the demand to pick up as costs for solar panels continue to drop.

Last year, he said, Dynalectric invested about $100,000 for the manpower, equipment and training necessary to install solar panels.

Stephens said the company is looking to capitalize on its investment with larger commercial projects.

"We believe there's going to be a large market for this," he said.

In Oregon and Washington, electric ratepayers pay to provide incentives for homeowners and businesses willing to take on the comparatively high cost of solar installation.

The training center in Portland, for example, received $12,000 from the Energy Trust of Oregon to offset the total installation cost of $28,000 which means the center should recoup its investment through energy savings in 10 years rather than 20.

Although solar power accounts for less than 1 percent of the Pacific Northwest's total energy supply, supporters say they are finding more and more people willing to make the investment for clean, renewable energy.

They say solar electricity is its own reward.

"You pay extra for an organic apple, and nobody asks you what the payback is," said Tanya Barham of the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, which collects premiums paid by public utility customers through its "Green Lights" program.

The foundation pools money raised through the program to subsidize the construction of solar panels, wind generators and other renewable forms of energy.

But the number of people willing to pay extra to support renewable energy remains relatively small.

Clark Public Utilities, for example, has for the past two years offered customers the option of paying a premium of $1.50 on a block of 100 kilowatt-hours. (The utility's average customer uses 1,150 kilowatt-hours per month.)

So far, however, only 338 of Clark's 160,000 customers have signed up for Green Lights.

Marlene Brown, an electrician attending this week's conference from Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico, said economics are important to many people, and financial incentives can help to convince them to make the investment.

"People say solar doesn't work, and I say the sun works just fine," Brown said.

For far more extensive news on the energy/power visit: http://www.energycentral.com .