The Solar Energy Center at Farmingdale State College

The Solar PV Workshop introduces the fundamental concepts in Photovoltaic technology. It provides training in the design, installation and maintenance of grid connected residential photovoltaic systems. The course is developed based on Task Analysis of NABCEP.

Topics covered include: Overview of PV Systems, Sunshine basics, how PV works, components of a PV systems, setup, configuration, sizing, wiring and controls, relevant sections of NEC, zoning laws and building codes pertaining to PV systems, interconnection requirements in New York State, specific parameters of concern to utilities in grid connected systems, practical experiments and demonstrations of different aspects of PV, site visit with detailed explanation of maintenance and troubleshooting. Actual hands on set-up of a small scale grid connected system. In addition, basic electrical concepts and safety issues related to PV installation and maintenance work will be covered. It is a 6-day, 48-hour training course that includes extensive hands-on experience and real world applications. The first day provides an introduction to basic electricity and PV concepts and it is optional for engineers and licensed electricians. Students are eligible to take the NABCEP Entry Level PV Exam after completing this course.

The Solar Energy Center at Farmingdale State College is accredited as a training institution and continuing education institution on solar energy by the Institute of Sustainable Power. This is the first such center to be accredited in the Northeast and the fourth in the entire USA. The center promotes education, applied research, training and public awareness in sustainable energy and in particular solar energy. Farmingdale State College is the site of the first utility scale photovoltaic demonstration project in the Northeast U.S. Three 20 kW units and one 20 kW unit were installed at various locations on campus in 1992 and 1993 respectively.