The solar industry’s workforce challenges run deeper than just hiring more technicians: we need a complete transformation in how we train, certify, and retain talent. Amanda Bybee, Chief Executive Officer of Amicus O&M Cooperative, joins Sean on this episode of The Future of CRE Sustainability to share the industry’s first ANSI standard for solar and battery storage technicians. This framework introduces a four-level professional development pathway that could resolve chronic labor challenges while ensuring systems perform optimally for decades.

Amanda shares why commercial real estate owners should view O&M not as an optional expense but as essential performance insurance, warns against confusing workmanship warranties with proper maintenance, and makes a compelling case for a more circular approach to solar equipment at end-of-life. Throughout the conversation, she emphasizes that despite constant market volatility and policy shifts, proper technician training cannot be sidelined — it’s foundational to the industry’s future and directly impacts the ROI of every installed system. 

Topics discussed:

• The development and implementation of the industry’s first ANSI-approved standard for solar and battery O&M technicians, creating a four-level professional framework that defines required knowledge, training objectives, and measurable competencies.
• How standardized training pathways address the chronic solar labor shortage by creating clear career advancement opportunities rather than letting technicians bounce between companies seeking higher pay without validated skills.
• Implementation strategies for organizations adopting standardized training, including starting with pilot programs, reassuring technicians about pay stability, and having senior techs engage with training materials from an instructor perspective.
• The critical distinction between workmanship warranties (which cover installation defects) and O&M agreements (which provide proactive performance monitoring and preventative maintenance) — a confusion that leads many system owners to under budget for proper care.
• The three-pillar business case for proper O&M: safety for people around the installation, performance optimization of the financial investment, and warranty preservation requiring documented maintenance.
• Balancing urgent market challenges (e.g., tariffs, policy changes, supply chain disruptions) with the essential need for technician training, avoiding the trap of sidelining training because the consequences aren’t immediately visible.
• The industry’s emerging approach to circularity, challenging the current paradigm by advocating for testing and reusing functional modules from decommissioned systems before recycling, creating a secondary market for replacement parts.
• The financial reality of proper solar asset recycling, including the need to budget for end-of-life costs in initial financial projections and the importance of driving down recycling costs to prevent improper disposal.
• How quality assurance during construction significantly reduces long-term O&M issues, particularly focusing on connection quality, wire management, and establishing golden row standards at project start.