• Partners
• RFP
• Training Network
• Workshops
• News

Welcome to the DOE’s Rocky Mountain Solar Training Program

The RMSTP was created in response to the Recovery Act - Dept. of Energy’s funding opportunity announcement number: DE-FOA-0000078, Solar Market Transformation. The RMSTP was selected as one of nine regional resource and training providers to support the professional development of trainers and instructors of solar photovoltaic (PV) and solar heating and cooling (SHC) technologies for the western United States. More information about the Dept of Energy’s Solar Instructor Training Network can be found : http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/instructor_training_network.html

The RMSTP is a joint partnership between the Dept. of Energy’s Solar Energy Technologies Program, Salt Lake Community College, Solar Energy International, and the Utah Solar Energy Association. The goal of the consortium is to accelerate the wide-spread adoption of solar electric technologies, training and facilities by improving existing solar training courses and facilities for the local photovoltaic and solar hot water installation workforce. The RMSTP’s mission seeks to increase the training capacity of community and technical college solar training programs within a 15 western United States region.

Click map to enlarge

The lack of qualified installation personnel is a significant barrier to market expansion and widespread adoption of solar PV and SHC technologies. Educational institutions face many challenges in developing programs to meet the needs of the growing solar industry. Community college leaders and industry executives report that many community colleges are unable to meet the demand for training in their region because of critical capacity constraints such as insufficient resources to support training facilities and equipment, curriculum, faculty, and/or other elements necessary to provide the volume or quality of training industry requires.

The RMSTP seeks to provide funds to community or technical colleges or technical high schools to train faculty within each state to become master trainers in solar instruction. Selected awardees will receive funds and design plans to build a solar PV or SHC lab at their institution to enable hands-on instruction and training to solar students.

The RMSTP seeks to expand qualified renewable energy workforce training capacity by providing training which will lead to measurable competency among faculty within funded community colleges, technical colleges and technical high schools that teach students solar electric (PV) and solar thermal (SHC) installation practice based on current industry standards.

The RMSTP region includes community and technical colleges and vocational technical high schools from the following states: Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Washington, Oregon and Alaska.

For more information please email RMSTP@slcc.edu.

Partners website links: www.slcc.edu, www.solarenergy.org, www.utsolar.org,

Our Partners