The dark side of the solar industry!

Reports the PBJ:

The increase in the number of contractors shifting from the nearly dormant housing industry into solar to pay bills has accelerated, but many haven’t received the proper training to make that transition. While problems don’t appear to be major, the industry is trying to police itself to prevent a bad image, and regulators are trying to get inspectors up to speed as fast as they can.

“Anecdotally, yes, we’re seeing more complaints on solar,” said Tyler Palmer, a spokesman for the Arizona Registrar of Contractors.

AROC doesn’t have hard numbers on how many complaints it has received, but Palmer said given the industry’s growth as other sectors decline, those complaints draw more attention.

It’s a fairly substantive story, but it ends on a less-than-upbeat note. Palmer, the contractor spokesperson, says that making sure contractors are licensed correctly for solar will require some action by the state:

“It’ll be a process, and some of them will require rule changes,” he said, adding that likely would involve a change in policy by Gov. Jan Brewer, who has frozen new rules at state agencies.