States such as California and Oregon have goals to vastly expand the amount of solar power installations, but a severe shortage of qualified technicians could short circuit their plans.

Based on current state and federal initiatives for commercial and residential solar installations, the U.S. needs 4,700 certified solar installers, but today there are just 300 in the country certified by the North American Board of Certified Energy Professionals, according to Distributed Energy.

Each state has its own rules and regulations, and there are no national certifications required for installers. The NABCEP offers a voluntary certification program. Few schools exist that offer specific solar installation training.

The free market should eventually take care of much of this demand, but if f government agencies want to meet their goals, they should establish certification standards and provide loans to set up training programs and to prospective students.