In many ways, the attributes associated with raising a family are quite applicable to the SITN – with IREC as national administrator and the relationships between the Regional Training Providers (RTPs) and their partner institutions and instructor trainees. Today, solar programs all across the country are thriving and providing the industry with a talent pipeline.

How can solar instructors openly share best practices and engage in ongoing conversations aimed at making solar training and instruction the best it can be? Tim Wilhelm, professor and program coordinator Electrical Technology, Renewable Energy Program at Kankakee Community College (KCC), proposed the concept to the National Science Foundation, resulting in an NSF grant to develop the solar instructor of community practice.

IREC honored its 2014 national 3iAward winners – for Innovation, Ingenuity, Inspiration in renewable energy and energy efficiency – at an awards ceremony on the show floor at SPI. This year's winners in each competitive category were for the first time selected by some 1,000 online voters.

Kankakee County, Illinois, population of 112,000 and home of Kankakee Community College (KCC), is Tim Wilhelm country. A physics major from Kent State, Wilhelm’s past 20 years at KCC include an adjunct professor, student and graduate, and since 2006, the impresario of its Electrical Technology Program (ETP) focused on building a highly-qualified, well-trained clean energy workforce in Central Illinois. For such a small, rural community college some 66 miles southwest of Chicago, KCC’s ETP is raising community awareness and building the pipeline for a clean energy economy by promoting quality educational standards for a clean energy workforce writ large.

IREC honors national award winners for the Best of 2014 in renewable energy and energy efficiency. Celebrating 21 years of recognizing exemplary people, projects and programs, this year's winners in each competitive category were for the first time selected by online voters. IREC 3iAward recipients were honored during an awards ceremony at Solar Power International.