Solar employment brightly shines in Minnesota

©Mark Ollig 

Minnesota’s job growth in the solar industry looks bright; especially with solar installations, per the 2018 National Solar Jobs Census Report.

The 80-page report analyzes employment and other statistics within the US solar industry.

Published by The Solar Foundation, the report provides wide-ranging survey results from solar industry employers.

Our state is experiencing rapid growth in residential, commercial, and community solar panel/power installations (nearly 4,000 as of 2018).

Minnesota has approximately 160 solar companies (and growing), which include manufacturers, developers, designers, and installers.

In the US alone, more than $1.5 billion was invested in solar during 2018.

Minnesota, as pointed out in the report, has strict solar licensing requirements, which may slow solar installations; however, these precautions ensure safety.

Our state considers solar installations “electrical work,” and thus, requires an installer to be at least a journey-level (completed an apprenticeship program or an experienced worker), or a licensed master-level electrician to complete the electrical phases within a photovoltaic (PV) installation.

New solar installation electrical sites in Minnesota require at least one licensed electrician for every two unlicensed electricians.

The report states that a large installation in Minnesota could require 20 licensed electricians if the solar PV installation employs 40 workers.

The most challenging position to fill is an electrician, according to 43 percent of Minnesota solar companies surveyed, which may be a result of our state’s licensing requirements.

Solar companies in Minnesota occasionally hire electricians from other states, because sometimes there are not enough local electricians available to meet solar installations/maintenance demands.

The report found that, on average, 10 percent of the electrical work for solar installations in Minnesota was performed by non-resident electricians.

As the solar industry continues to grow, we will need more licensed electricians, and community and technical college courses teaching solar PV installation under state and industry accreditation.

Seven states have solar-specific license requirements, six states accept the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) certification, and 10 states have no licensing requirements to perform solar installation work.

While not always needed, solar-specific licensing, including NABCEP, can be advantageous, as the training explicitly addresses the relevant skill sets required to carry out solar installations.

Solar companies surveyed in 2018 said they required solar installation experience for 60 percent of all new employees; an increase from 55 percent needed in 2017.

In 2018, California lawmakers passed a “rooftop solar mandate” for new homes, which is estimated to produce a 14 percent increase in total US solar sales over the next four years.

Solar employment for 2018 totaled 242,343, and is categorized in the following sectors:

• Installation/project development: 155,157.

• Wholesale trade/distribution: 29,243.

• Operations/maintenance: 11,164.

• Manufacturing: 33,726.

• Related sectors: 13,053.

Last year, there were 4,602 employed in Minnesota solar-related jobs. In 2017, there were 4,256.

Besides the installation of solar panels to harness the sun’s energy, batteries to store solar energy are crucial in providing electricity to consumers and businesses who switch to it when the power goes off.

The report stated that 3,900 jobs are directly related to battery storage.

Employment has increased in solar industry software companies, such as Aurora Solar, which provides residential and commercial solar design and software sales programs for solar installation companies.

Aurora Solar, based in San Francisco, CA, has doubled its workforce over the past year.

The National Solar Jobs Census Report includes data gathered between September and October 2018, including information from approximately 59,300 phone calls, and more than 49,000 emails.

The solar industry outlook for this year is positive. Based on the report’s survey results, solar jobs are expected to increase by 7 percent in 2019, bringing the total employment jobs to around 259,400.

Nationwide, the Solar Energy Industries Association reports 1,904,000 solar systems have been installed. They are producing 60 gigawatts of electrical power.

Minnesota’s energy profile from the US Energy Information Administration can be found at https://bit.ly/2X8akJ4.

The Minnesota Department of Commerce solar webpage is https://mn.gov/commerce/industries/energy/solar.

The 2018 National Solar Jobs Census Report and other information is available at https://www.thesolarfoundation.org/national.

While writing this column, I looked out the window and noted the blue sky and an abundance of energy-producing sunshine.

Credit: US Department of Energy

Severed submarine cable ‘digitally isolates’ South Pacific country

©Mark Ollig


The underwater fiber-optic cable between the city of Suva, the capital of the Republic of Fiji; and Nukualofa, the capital of Tonga, was suddenly cut Jan. 20.

Tonga’s 10-gigabits-per-second high-speed internet, along with its international telecommunication services, are delivered from Fiji over the submarine cable called the Tonga Cable.

Tonga is located 2,038 miles east of Brisbane, Australia, and 1,500 miles northeast of New Zealand.

With the submarine cable severed, the residents of Tonga suddenly found themselves disconnected from the rest of the online world.

According to Tonga’s news website, Matangi, Tonga was put “into digital isolation.”

Mantangi reported the submarine cable’s disruption fault was located 50 miles from Tonga.

Tonga is made up of a group of islands, of which 36 are inhabited. The people there are heavily-dependent on the submarine cable which links them to the rest of the world.

The severed submarine cable disrupted the internet and international telecommunications services, causing some 100,000 people, to be thrown into online digital darkness.

The 514-mile Tonga submarine cable was placed into service in August 2013, is managed by Tonga Cable, and owned by Tonga Communications Corporation, Government of Tonga, and telecommunications service provider, Digicel Tonga.

The cable connects Tonga to the Southern Cross Cable submarine cable that links Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, and includes landing points in Kahe Point and Spencer beach in Hawaii; Hillsboro, OR; and Morro Bay, CA.

While the submarine cable underwent restoration by a submarine cable maintenance ship named Reliance, the isolated island in the South Pacific needed to rely on short-term internet connectivity.

A locally-owned-and-operated satellite service was able to provide minimal internet service; however, the data speed was comparable to the early days of online dial-up telephone service.

Mantangi described the efforts to “swing some extra satellite capacity to Tonga” as being performed by “smart, young, and adventurous Tongans.”

Most Tonga residents needed to wait – sometimes for hours – to use the satellite facilities, and they could use them for only a brief time.

Tonga’s Health Ministry Chief Siale ‘Akau’ola reported they lost contact with government stations on Tonga’s outer islands because of the communication disruption.

“There are areas that are critical, and most of them need confirmation of supplies and when goods and supplies are arriving,” ‘Akau’ola said.

Tonga’s tourism business is also heavily-dependent on internet access.

In addition to losing internet service, international telephone calls and processing credit card payments were also inoperative.

To help, the local telephone company in Nuku’alofa set up internet hotspot locations for residents to use.

Bandwidth was limited; essential services were placed on a high priority. Local officials blocked social media sites, such as YouTube and Facebook, which used too much bandwidth.

Local business owners were lined up at these hotspots and were able to place orders, process payments, and respond to their online customers, albeit at extremely slow data speeds.

Not only were businesses losing money, individuals needing to process money transfers and deposit payments into banks from abroad were also affected.

Many suppliers were unable to get their orders out on time; as there were many disruptions.

“The business houses were in serious trouble, especially in the first few days. The banks, as well as the airlines, the government ministries that are responsible, for example, for issuing certificates and licenses, etcetera, had a difficult time,” said Mr. Senituilia, a Tonga government spokesperson.

Since access to the internet was limited; many people reverted to a time before there were internet and web access. They began talking with each other face-to-face, they were going outside without a smartphone, and people were verbally socializing (instead of texting) at the local food and drink establishments.

If you have ever lost your internet connection for an extended period, you understand the frustration of not being able to access the online content and websites on the internet.

Being online has become part of our daily lives: texting, emails, social media, online banking, and booking hotels, car rentals, and airfare. We Google, watch videos, and check online news sources using the internet and web. I’ve become so dependent on my smartphone, I would feel uncomfortable without it.

However, I digress.

What caused the severed submarine cable? Tonga officials believe a large ship dragging its anchor along the bottom of the South Pacific Ocean cut the submarine cable, causing the communications disruption.

The repairs to the Tonga fiber-optic submarine cable were completed Feb. 2, and internet and communications services were fully restored to the residents.

“There are a lot of people trying to catch up today. It’s good to be back,” said Paula Taumoepeau, president of Tonga’s Chamber of Commerce.

TeleGeography provides a regularly updated and interactive global submarine cable map, free to the public, at https://www.submarinecablemap.com.

Fiber-optic submarine Southern Cross Cable

Submarine fiber-optic Tonga Cable

Changes to over-the-air TV signals

©Mark Ollig

Soon, many local TV stations in cities across the US will begin changing their over-the-air broadcast channel frequencies.

Per a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) order, these changes are to be completed by July 2020.

According to the FCC, the reason for the change is to open the digital airwaves for new high-speed wireless services.

A television broadcaster is required to provide its viewers a 30-day notice before their frequency change occurs.

The FCC order changing channel frequencies might remind you of 2009, when over-the-air broadcast channels switched from analog to digital signaling, requiring many folks to buy converter boxes to use on their analog television sets.

There will be no buying of converter boxes this time. The upcoming over-the-air change will only require a rescan of your TV channels.

If you watch free over-the-air television with an antenna, you will need to rescan your TV set channel availability each time an individual station moves its channel to a new frequency in order to continue receiving the channel’s broadcast.

Note, the actual channel number on your TV will not change, so channel 45 will remain channel 45 after the rescan updates its broadcast frequency.

If you do not use over-the-air digital television signals and are a subscriber to a cable or satellite TV service provider, you do not need to perform the TV rescan. Your service provider will do this.

“Good-bye to analog broadcast TV” was a column I wrote Oct. 23, 2006.

The Congress of the United States had passed a law specifying Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2009, as the deadline for all television broadcast stations to end over-the-air transmission of analog signals and convert to digital television signaling.

Digital over-the-air broadcast television took over the center seat, sending analog over-the-air broadcast television into retirement.

In the months ahead, TV channels will be changing their over-the-air broadcast channel frequencies; however, not all at the same time, so your TV may need to be rescanned more than once.

The FCC’s website provides an interactive TV reception map where you can check the frequency change timeframe for the local channels in your viewing area.

Your specific information can be seen by typing in your street address including city and state, or only city and state, or your viewing ZIP Code at this link: https://www.fcc.gov/media/engineering/dtvmaps.

I entered ZIP Code 55395 (Winsted). The results showed a map, along with information on each over-the-air local station viewable for 55395, including call sign, network, and channel. The IA (Incentive Auction) will show an “R” next to channels changing frequencies.

Note, the FCC will update the IA (R) information as it becomes available.

The 55395 over-the-air stations, call sign, network, and channel number showing “strong” digital signal coverage include:

KSTC-TV- IND 45 -R;

WCCO-TV- CBS 4;

KSTP-TV- ABC 5;

WUCW- CW 23;

WFTC- MY N 29;

KTCA-TV- PBS 2; and

KPXM-TV- ION 41 -R.

More information about each station, including new channel frequency repack dates, will be seen when you click on its hyperlinked call sign.

Channel 45 will be changing its channel frequency between April 13, 2019 and June 21, 2019.

Channel 41 shows it changed its channel frequency between March 23, 2018 and June 1, 2018.

Other 55395 over-the-air stations with “moderate” coverages include: KTCI-TV PBS channel 17, KARE NBC channel 11, and KMSP-TV FOX channel 9. These stations, as of this writing, have no updated channel frequency changes.

There are also no changes (so far) for KEYC-TV CBS channel 12 out of Mankato, which the FCC says has a “weak” over-the-air signal in Winsted.

The FCC reminds us that all full-power television stations in the US are broadcast in digital only.

For more information on how to rescan your over-the-air TV channels, visit https://www.fcc.gov/rescan.

The National Association of Broadcasters webpage also provides helpful information on the changes at http://tvanswers.org.