How’s business? Have some electrical experience? Well, it’s a great time to be in solar. Solar is and has been the fastest growing industry in the country, and will continue to be for the foreseeable future.
Why you ask? Well, we know that fossil fuels costs are at the lowest they have been for a few years, and will eventually go back up. Solar PV, the price of panels and the balance of the solar system has dropped 60% in the past five years, and continues to go down. Solar is at “grid parity”, which essentially boils down to being cheaper that the cost of the local utility, in 25% of country. And, we know that large, monopoly, investor owned utility companies are not going to start charging us less!? So the common phrase, the answer rises each morning…. The sun!
So lets take an average solar market like, let’s say Missouri. Not a random pick, but a good example of state with average utility rates. As you can see in this info graphic, solar is creating good paying jobs, and a lot of them! Yes, a naysayer could point out that there is a tax credit involved, but it is really no different than what the massive utilities receive for building power plants and the tax breaks that the big oil companies get every day.
How do you get into the industry? Well, it starts with some training, check out a places like NABCEP, Midwest Renewable Energy Association, and Solar Energy International or your local tech school. But make sure to do your research. There are a lot of fly by night trainings orgs right now, because of how hot the industry is. I see John and Eric promoting the trades all the time through Mechanical Hub, and while I am one of the go-get-a-liberal-arts-degree-type guys, I absolutely value and promote getting any type of education as long as it is good training.
Shine on! Nick
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