Ground broken for solar training facility in Hiawatha

A new training facility for the certification of solar energy site assessors and installers is expected to be operational by the end of November.

Ground was broken Wednesday at the Prairiewoods Franciscan Spirituality Center in Hiawatha for the $100,000 Iowa Renewable Energy Training Center. A $50,000 grant from the Iowa Power Fund will be matched with $50,000 in tuition fees to pay for constructing the center.

Mike Carberry, executive director of the Iowa Renewable Energy Association, said the building - about the size of a three-stall garage - will serve as the only solar thermal and solar photovoltaic installation training facility in Iowa.

“If someone wants to be a certified site assessor or certified installer, they have to drive about five hours to the Midwest Renewable Energy facility in Stevens Point, Wis., ” Carberry said. “There has not been enough demand in Iowa and we are still working on renewable energy policy to increase demand.

“We're hoping this facility will keep training dollars local. When someone is coming here for a week of training, they will need to stay at a local hotel and eat at local restaurants.”

Prairiewoods has a 17.5 kilowatt solar array that produces about 45 percent of the electricity required by the spirituality center. Carberry said the solar training facility will have a 2 kilowatt solar array that can be installed, removed and reinstalled.

Gov. Chet Culver said the training center is needed for the state to achieve its solar energy production goal.

“Today, we're at about 100 kilowatts of electricity from solar energy in Iowa,” Culver said. “We can produce about 1,600 kilowatts of electricity from solar. That's a real goal.

“That means more jobs and lower utility costs for homeowners and businesses. We have to have the trained professionals to install it properly.”

Culver noted that Iowa receives 20 percent of its electricity from renewable energy sources, primarily from wind turbines. He said the new training facility at Prairiewoods will provide a resource for Iowans to learn what is possible with solar energy.