Taylor orders Clean Energy Regulator review into solar industry
Buying a solar system is a big investment for most households. Making sure consumers can trust whom they’re buying from is crucially important. A review aims to make that more transparent.
SA News
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IN a bid to crackdown on cowboys in the solar panel market, a review into the sector has been ordered by the Federal Government.
Proper accreditation of installers, product quality and bullying by salespeople will be examined by the Clean Energy Regulator under instruction from Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister Angus Taylor said.
“Australians are world leaders in the uptake of rooftop photo voltaic, shown by the uninterrupted strong growth in rooftop solar,” he said.
“Protecting the integrity of a system that has such a wide ranging impact on Australian households and businesses is a top priority.”
Detailed terms of reference were yet to be decided but a two-month target was set for the review announced on Tuesday.
The Clean Energy Regulator, a federal statutory authority, does already conduct regular inspections of a sample of solar installations.
Its most recent published report, from 2018, found that in South Australia a quarter – or 71 of 276 sites inspected – were substandard and one site was declared unsafe.
Nationally, 748 of 2850 were substandard and 80 were unsafe.
The Clean Energy Council, an independent organisation with more than 850 members, accredits installers and approves solar retailers.
The review ordered by Mr Taylor is expected to include examining how the Clean Energy Council approves companies as well as investigating businesses which do not have council accreditation.
The council said it would welcome a “genuine review of the regulations and oversight of the Australian solar industry” if it led to a more robust sector and better outcomes for consumers.
“However, the Clean Energy Council would be deeply concerned if this became politicised as was the case in 2015 when the Abbott Government initiated a review of the solar industry as part of its campaign to reduce support for renewable energy,” it said in a statement.
The industry was heavily regulated and scrutinised and the council had been driving tougher standards and better training, it said.
“We are confident that this means the vast majority of solar customers get a good quality solar system that is safely installed,” the council said.
The council’s retailer approval is a voluntary scheme where businesses agree to a code of conduct.
The code includes pledges not to engage in deceptive conduct about the price, value or quality of goods, minimum warranty periods and avoidance of high-pressure sales tactics.
The code is authorised by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
The commission said there was no accurate record of how many solar retailers operate in Australia, but estimates were 4000 to 5000, with most being sole operators or very small businesses.
Only 1034 retailers have signed up to the code of conduct which sets a higher bar than standard consumer laws.
The ACCC has been reviewing the code with two key issues at stake.
Firstly, the Clean Energy Council and others want the code to be expanded to include home batteries and other new home energy management systems. That process has stalled on objection by a buy-now-pay-later finance provider.
Secondly, some businesses claim the solar code is unfair because while promoted as voluntary those which fail to sign were locked out of various government schemes.
The ACCC aims to re-authorise the code in October.