Class Members Install Solar Panels on Special Demo Rooftop!

Nineteen participants in the Bronx Community College (BCC) complimentary Solar Power Training course open to all New Yorkers had hands-on experience installing solar panels on BCC’s demonstration rooftop this past July. Thanks to the Green Action Challenge grant – generously funded by the New York Power Authority and sponsored by the Bronx Economic Development Corporation – BCC offered this four-week course in collaboration with Workforce Development and the RETI (Resilience, Education, Training, Innovation) Center. 

“The program is focused on giving people skills and knowledge so they have the vocabulary, basic theory and hands-on practical experience when they go for their first job opportunity in solar,” said David Gibbs, solar instructor from the RETI Center. “By having students install the panels, we put students’ theoretical skills to the test – and they were ready!” 

With their solar meters in hand, students assessed the solar radiation falling on the surface of the solar panels when tilted at different angles and practiced installing the panels with electric drills. Other portions of the program leading up to this hands-on event included instruction on electric vehicle (EV) battery and storage and the business of solar. 

“When I heard about this program, I jumped at the chance to do it because I knew it would provide me with the hands-on experience to complement my studies,” said Donique Spencer, who graduated from BCC last May and is enrolled at City Tech for the fall where she will major in Civil Engineering and Construction Management. “In addition to learning about installing solar panels, we learned how to calculate installation costs. I am now going to move forward in having solar panels installed at my own home.”

RETI’s connections with solar installation companies often enable students who participate in this training to be placed on jobs. There also is an entrepreneurial component to the program, where students hear from professionals about what it’s like to begin one’s own solar installation company. BCC’s Campus Operations and Physical Plant Services – specifically Emanuel Rice and Paul Laspina – refurbished the low-laying rooftop, providing the students with a wonderful learning opportunity. 

Another student participant, Geraldine Brooks, came to the program so she could learn about different career options in the green industry. “I learned about career paths, but learned too about safety measures and measurements. I just love the fact that we’re using the sun’s energy to turn it into electricity,” she said. “And it’s all so exciting because this represents modern day living.”