Today, the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) releases the application and announces the date of its first exam for Solar Photovoltaic Installer Certification. The exam date is set for Saturday, October 25, 2003 at various testing sites around the United States.

Today, the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) releases the application and announces the date of its first exam for Solar Photovoltaic Installer Certification. The exam date is set for Saturday, October 25, 2003 at various testing sites around the United States. The certification will be a voluntary process upon meeting certain eligibility requirements and successfully passing the written exam.

The Solar Photovoltaic Installer Certification and exam is the culmination of a more than two year process in which input was garnered from a wide array of stakeholders including current PV installers, electrical contractors, trade representatives, mechanical engineers, states, and other industry representatives. During the process, NABCEP listened intently to the stakeholders to ensure that the certification exam will be based upon realistic performance tasks necessary at the installation site.

The goals of NABCEP's certification program are to provide the public with protection by providing them with a credential for judging the competency of the installer; allow installers/practitioners to distinguish themselves from their competition by potentially improving quality, and enhance the public's perception of PV installations through increasing the industry's prominence. It is also designed to encourage those with differing levels of experience and knowledge to adequately prepare and sit for the exam.

Toward that end, NABCEP's website at www.nabcep.org contains the Exam Application as well as the Candidate Information Handbook explaining the different qualifying categories for taking the exam as well as other information that the applicant will need to know. Additionally, NABCEP will be holding various education and outreach sessions to permit potential examinees to obtain answers to any questions regarding the exam they may have.

Ezra Auerbach, Chairman of NABCEP said; "We have been waiting a long time for this historic day - when we can finally announce the date of our exam. I'm grateful for the hard work of our board and committees as well as our departing Project Director Wendy Parker in creating this voluntary certification program that will hopefully lead to better quality installation of PV systems and greater acceptance by the public of their viability."

Applications Due Back to NABCEP by July 31, 2003