CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Iowa's lack of specific professional standards for solar-systems installers is impeding the development of a solar power industry in Iowa, some longtime observers say.
The problem, said Greg Watkins, renewable energy planner for the Iowa Office of Energy Independence, is that Iowa's regulatory framework prevents some installers with specialized training and certification in solar systems from working and allows others with no specific solar-systems knowledge to do the work.
"A lot of people who aren't certified are installing systems," Watkins said. "The work isn't up to par. It does the whole renewable energy industry a disservice."
The implementation last year of statewide licensing for plumbers and electricians required virtually everyone who installs electrical and plumbing systems in Iowa to have a statewide license. Those statewide licenses allow plumbers to install solar hot-water heating systems and electricians to install solar heating or electrical systems, regardless of training or certification with the systems.
Retired schoolteacher Tom Snyder of Dyersville has been installing solar hot-water systems for about 40 years and has a national certification in them. None of that mattered under Iowa's statewide licensing.
Snyder and a handful of other solar installers in the state had to either get a license in the appropriate trade or hire a licensed plumber or electrician to pull permits for the jobs and review their work.
Snyder decided to pay $250 and take the test to obtain a master plumber's license.
Solar electric installer Dennis Pottratz of Go Solar! in Decorah has a special certificate from the state that allows him to keep working on the systems, as he has for about 14 years, and he must hire a licensed electrician to pull the permits.
"Im effectively paying someone for something I consider to be of little value," Pottratz said.
Watkins said the Office of Energy Independence has begun looking into the issue, largely at the urging of Snyder.
The Iowa Department of Public Health oversees licensing for plumbers and mechanical contractors, while the Iowa Department of Public Safety oversees licensing for electricians. The law doesn't specifically identify solar thermal systems but does refer to hydronics (recirculating liquid heating and cooling) and related systems, Public Health's Cindy Houlson said.
The Midwest Renewable Energy Association is considered by many the leading organization for education of renewable energy installers in the Midwest. Executive Director Tehri Parker said Iowa's lack of standards specific to solar is not unusual.
Dyersville installer Snyder said consumers are the real losers in Iowa's current regulatory framework.
"When I started this in the '70s, I ended up fixing up an incredible number of really poor installations," Snyder said. "Its going back to that again now. People call me and say, 'How can I straighten this out?' Well, Im not going to touch that. If I try to correct something somebody else did, Im responsible for their project."
State Sen. Rob Hogg, D-Cedar Rapids, who recently called for Iowa utilities to install 7,000 kilowatts of solar power over the next five years, believes the legislative climate is good for addressing installer regulation.
"Where the momentum is going to come from is interest in clean energy jobs," Hogg said. "We need to make sure our regulatory framework not only is not a barrier, but encourages more people to get work in these areas. Anytime you get new technologies, you need to adjust your existing regulations to those technologies."
Last year, Iowa legislators did create a special license for installers of geothermal heating and cooling systems.
