Installers and retailers around the country are not only boosting Australia’s renewables push, they’re driving down power bills while being on the frontline of electrifying our nation, writes Clean Energy Council chief executive Kane Thornton.
The renewable energy landscape in Australia is changing at pace, increasingly and excitingly so since the Federal Election in May 2022.
There is so much innovation in many areas such as battery storage, green hydrogen and wind that sometimes it is easy to forget Australia is already a world leader in small-scale solar.
Everyday Australians, retailers and installers have helped drive the fastest rollout of rooftop solar in the world, saving households money while creating jobs and aiding the energy transformation.
That’s why the Clean Energy Council celebrated Solar Month in March – a time to reflect on the achievements of the thousands of installers and retailers doing great work to keep our solar drive going.
We know it hasn’t been easy – with challenges around workforce numbers, convoluted regulatory systems and global supply chains – but Australia remains one of the lowest-cost countries for rooftop solar installation.
That is something we should be proud of, and it’s why the Clean Energy Council is focused on advocating for and supporting the small-scale solar industry and its workforce.
Creating jobs, lowering prices
Rooftop solar will play a vital role in Australia reaching its renewable energy target of 82 per cent by 2030. While much of the political and big policy debates are taking place for other renewable energy industries (all of which are vitally important) rooftop solar continues to do a lot of the heavy lifting.
Approximately six new jobs are created each year for every megawatt of new rooftop solar, making small-scale solar the largest generator of employment in the renewable energy industry. These skilled workers, employed by small to medium size businesses, are vital not just in the fight for increased renewable energy, but to local economies across Australia.
We know energy prices will likely continue to be high for some time thanks to rising gas and coal prices, but in the long run, renewables are the cheapest, cleanest option and essential to driving power prices back down again.
To help small and medium size installers succeed, we need to improve the regulatory frameworks that ensure customers are treated fairly and get what they pay for.
On 1 February, 2023, in collaboration with several peak industry and consumer bodies, the Clean Energy Council launched the New Energy Tech Consumer Code (NETCC) which replaces the Approved Solar Retailer program to expand the coverage of consumer protections beyond just solar and storage.
NETCC was developed at the request of federal and state governments following the long-standing success of the original Approved Solar Retailer program.
It is a voluntary code of conduct governed by the NETCC Council, comprising several industry bodies, and administered by the Clean Energy Council. We take that responsibility seriously, and it’s an avenue for us to directly impact the small-scale solar industry, both from a consumer protection perspective and in helping small and medium size installers and retailers be the best they can be.
Our teams work with retailers daily to help them get their products and services up to standard. In most cases, companies and workers are eager to improve and meet industry standards. In the small number of cases where they aren’t, we are willing to suspend the approved status of those entities or even cancel their approved status altogether.
Training and advocacy
We’ve been working hard to improve the quality of vocational training for installers in Australia’s rooftop solar industry. In 2022, the Clean Energy Council helped develop the first comprehensive update to training units in more than 10 years.
The updates will benefit both industry and consumers, including in the following ways:
- More job roles in the rooftop solar industry will have access to formal training.
- Easing demands on electricians.
- Installers and designers can expand their skills with formal training.
- Clearer pathways for different grid connections.
- Improved sustainability in the industry.
Having a strong and skilled workforce is essential to the small-scale renewable energy sector. In 2023, we are working on a number of projects around the country, trying to build up and promote small-scale solar.
In South Australia and Queensland, we’ve been working with electricity networks on their approaches to disconnecting rooftop solar panels during system security events. Each network is using different processes and the lack of consistency causes issues for inverter manufacturers and installers.
We’ve also been lobbying the Australian Energy Regulator for community groups and battery developers to be able to own and operate community batteries, as opposed to just electricity networks. Allowing electricity networks to do this significantly reduces the benefits to householders of a community battery since all the income flows to the network and there is no requirement to share that income or use it to reduce costs to consumers.
IREC comes to Australia
I was in Adelaide recently for the official announcement that the International Renewable Energy Conference (IREC) will be held in Adelaide in 2024. That announcement took place at the headquarters of Tindo Solar, Australia’s only solar manufacturer, which was launching its $11 million production and innovation facility – a huge step in developing Australia’s domestic solar supply chain.
IREC is going to be huge for the Australian renewables industry, and it will allow us to show the world what we are doing and how we are leading renewable energy deployment.
The conference will allow us to showcase Australia’s global leadership, which has been achieved by those on the front edge of the solar revolution: installers, retailers, trade assistants, compliance managers, technology suppliers, managers and leaders.
Thank you to all of you, and let’s get cracking on the next three million Australian solar homes.
Kane Thornton has more than a decade of experience in energy policy and leadership in the development of the renewable energy industry. His column is a regular feature in EcoGeneration, where he analyses industry trends and explains the impacts of federal and state renewable policies on the energy sector.