While the installation rate of multi-MW PV systems has been rapidly increasing in recent months, the vast majority of PV systems installed worldwide are focused at a much smaller scale – typically for single household or small community use.

This distributed generation focus, be that for grid-connected or off-grid services, requires a dispersed resource of installation and maintenance technicians and businesses to serve decentralized markets. In many locations, however, and particularly in developing countries, such infrastructure is non-existant or of variable (often low) standard. This is a particular concern for PV-based rural energy service programmes, where appropriate technician training is at least as important as hardware standards to the prospects for programme success and is a prerequisite for sustainable longer term business development.

As reported previously in PV Power (#13, September 2000), the Institute for Sustainable Power (ISP) is a non-profit organization which is working internationally to coordinate, develop, and maintain standards for evaluating and qualifying trainers, training programmes, and auditors in order to establish minimum standards for energy practitioners. Technicians who have successfully completed an ISP accredited training course would be deemed to have the competence to deliver appropriate levels of support to keep systems running and ideally also to further grow the energy service business. From its original PV remit, ISP has expanded to address other renewables, energy efficiency and distributed generation in general.

International progress ISP is now active in over a dozen developing countries, most notably China, under the Brightness Programme, and Sri-Lanka working with the Solar Energy Industry Association. Several OECD countries have set-up or are in the process of establishing appropriate training initiatives and certification schemes to ensure installation and service staff have the requisite technical skills and knowledge to safely and competently support their customers. ISP is supporting this process in Canada, Germany, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland, UK and USA. Australia, which in 1994 was one of the first countries to initiate a national accreditation programme for PV designers and installers is now looking to harmonize its scheme with the International Standard developed by ISP.

The Institute works with appropriate national standards agencies and training organizations to determine the minimum skills and knowledge which would be required for, say, a solar home system installer to perform a quality installation job. Other jobs could be similarly evaluated as required. Existing ISP quality standards may be appropriate for adoption without changes, though often some adaptation will be needed to ensure conformity with specific national codes and practices. An accreditation committee ensures that the final standards are relevant and satisfy appropriate international benchmarks. Training programmes (organizations) and continuing education programmes are accredited to, and instructors and master trainers are certified to, these standards. On receiving accreditation/certification the training organizations or trainers can certify technicians.

Information

• Mark Fitzgerald
  Email: markfitz@ispq.org
  Web: www.ispq.org

Making training work The Role of Quality Management, Hardware Certification and Accredited Training in PV Programmes in Developing Countries is the subject of a recent report prepared by IEA-PVPS Task 9 (PV Services for Developing Countries). For a training accreditation and practitioner certification programme to succeed, it must:
•	have the support of the industry it represents and be credible to funding, government, and member groups (in this respect, accreditation of training organizations should be steered by an independent non-profit organization);
•	provide a benefit to its users and stakeholders that outweighs its costs;
•	be based on valid standards of knowledge and skills competency and on auditable measures of capability and process;
•	have a chain of responsibility that extends from the national and/or international standards and oversight group to the participating organizations andindividuals.
At the same time, any such initiative will only be sustainable where there is a viable market that provides adequate work for certified practitioners. The report, T9-04:2003, can be downloaded from the PVPS website.

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