Solar Energy Certification (SEC)

The Solar Energy Certification (SEC) framework has been established in 2020 as a non-profit international professional certification and accreditation scheme under cooperation of the European Solar Network and the European IT Certification Institute.

The Solar Energy Certification involves a fully digitally-accessible curriculum divided into three levels of advancement:

• Associate (basic / entry level, covering fundamentals in solar energy, including PV and solar heat)
• Professional (intermediate level, covering practical and technical details of solar energy technologies)
• Expert (advanced level, covering expertise in scope of theory and technical practice in the solar energy industry)

and includes particular specializations to provide a useful professional standard for knowledge and skills attestment in various domains of the solar energy field.

The Solar Energy Certification (SEC) standard is programmed into:

• Photovoltaics
  • Solar Energy Certificate – PV Associate (SEC-PVA)
  • Solar Energy Certificate – PV Professional (SEC-PVP)
  • Solar Energy Certificate – PV Expert (SEC-PVE)
• Solar Heat
  • Solar Energy Certificate – Solar Heat Associate (SEC-SHA)
  • Solar Energy Certificate – Solar Heat Professional (SEC-SHP)
  • Solar Energy Certificate – Solar Heat Expert (SEC-SHE)

The Solar Energy Certification framework has been first launched on its Associate level, based on the Solar Quiz authored by Agnieszka Rządkowska (chair of the ESN), which was one of the programme elements of the EuroSun 2020 Conference held virtually in Athens from 1st to 3rd September 2020. The subsequent advancement levels in both PV and Solar Heat domains has been further developed by the Solar Energy Certification Committee hosted under the European Solar Network and the European IT Certification Institute.

The framework aims to globally increase the access to high quality certified competency in solar energy, overcoming economic bariers in accessing commercial programmes in lower-developed countries and through an extensive use of digital technology and programming of the scheme so that it is fully online (with remote examinations), also enabling to further reduce costs to the end-users.

Both the European Solar Network and the European IT Certification Institute (bringing in 15 years of experience in governing digital professional certification schemes) will continue their efforts to make the Solar Energy Certification (SEC) an internationally recognized skills attestment framework, expanding cooperation in promoting the competency attestment standard with other relevant international organizations.

Join the Solar Energy Certification Committee by applying directly to the sec@eusolarnet.org email address along with a short CV attached or by joining its focus group on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12586153/

The participation in the SEC Committee is voluntary and does not require any participation fee.