By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent
North Carolina has rapidly shot up the list of top solar states in the United States in the past several years as measured by the amount of solar capacity installed. And that’s a huge accomplishment for a state that 10 years ago wasn’t on anyone’s radar as having a significant solar market.
Most of that growth, however, has been through utility-scale solar until recently, when changes in state laws have now encouraged the development of residential and commercial solar. As those markets expand, at least one advocacy group is trying to deal ahead of time with some of the issues other states have had in those solar segments.
According to a report in the Charlotte Business Journal, the N.C. Sustainable Energy Association (NCSEA) is demanding that its members who do residential and commercial installations pledge to follow the group’s Code of Conduct – or get the hell out.
As Mike Davis, president of NCSEA, told the Journal:
Between the organic growth in the business and the pop provided earlier this year by Duke Energy Corp.’s rebates for such solar projects, the association and its members wanted to establish baseline professional codes for the industry, says Mike Davis.
“A code of professional conduct is a good thing for any industry,” says Davis, director of membership for the Raleigh-based association. “But we have seen an influx of new players in the market (after Duke offered the rebates) and that gave us a sense of urgency.”
The goal of the standards is to head off any scandals involving unethical business behavior that includes “high-pressure sales, over-promising on rebates and incentives, overselling potential savings and, in some cases, doing shoddy workmanship,” the Journal reports.
While NCSEA has no enforcement mechanism or authority, it is requiring all its current members to sign the pledge and won’t take any new members who refuse to do so.
More:
Why this group wants NC solar installers on board with new conduct standards