Growing up in an off-grid household on Kangaroo Island gave Josh Sheppard an early introduction into the benefits of solar power, writes Gavin Dennett.
Josh Sheppard grew up on South Australia’s picturesque Kangaroo Island wanting to be a pilot. However, living in an off-grid household gave him early insight into the benefits of solar energy and a career in an electrical trade called. Now he is well established as an experienced solar and battery installer on the island and on Australia’s mainland.
How did you transition from wanting to be a pilot to becoming an electrician and solar installer?
I always wanted to be a pilot but then when I was in year 10 at school, Ansett collapsed and there was a whole bunch of stuff going on in the aviation industry so I began to think of something else. I did some electrical work experience and enjoyed it so that was it. In my early teens until I left home we lived off-grid so I was around solar early on in life.
Once you got your trade, did you start working as a sole trader?
When I finished my trade, I actually went up to Roxby Downs mine for about a year, but then the global financial crisis hit and things went quiet in mining. I came back to Kangaroo Island to do some maintenance work but got bored very quickly. There was plenty of electrical work around and by 2009 I had set myself up [as Josh Sheppard Electrical].
Was it then you started doing solar installations?
I started doing subcontract grid-connect stuff and installs for a few other companies, and it grew from there into my own jobs which progressed into off-grid work that I was already interested in. Now it has taken over most of my work.
Is there a lot of off-grid demand on Kangaroo Island?
I wouldn’t say there is more here compared to other places as such, but there are a lot of hard-to-get-to spots, and people who are building in locations that are nice places to live with views but have restricted access to mains. On the island, as soon as you get out of the main towns – especially heading west – a lot of the infrastructure is fairly lean, and some of it is at capacity already. It is generally more difficult and expensive to get to the mains lines in a lot of places so if you want to build a house, you need to have off-grid solar. There are a couple of developments on the island at the moment that are going into that off-grid battery and solar scenario.
Kangaroo Island was hit hard during the Black Summer bushfires of 2019-2020 – has that impacted your work?
From my perspective, not really. When the bushfires were on, I was out there helping people connect generators and stuff like that, but in terms of work afterwards, not as much. The South Australian Government donated solar and batteries to people who lost houses and I installed a handful of them.
What are some of the biggest jobs you’ve worked on?
Most of my larger jobs are working with other companies on the mainland. Bedarra Island Resort in Mission Beach [Queensland] is the single biggest job I have worked on. I was working for another installer, Peter King, and he got me onboard to help him run that job. That was a great experience. It’s good to work with other quality, likeminded installers.
You also do educational work at the Solar Training Centre in Adelaide – how did that come about?
I did my grid battery course with the Solar Training Centre a couple of years ago. I already had off-grid certification, but the Clean Energy Council brought in the requirement to have a separate certification for grid battery so I did that course with Steve Kostoff [CEO, Solar Training Centre]. They were keen to have someone with battery experience onboard for their off-grid training. We are currently finishing writing the new off-grid course.
Do you enjoy passing on your knowledge in training courses?
Yes, from my perspective it’s about trying to improve the quality of the industry. We have a good solar industry, but there is a percentage of it that’s shonks and sharks. There’s a big push from a lot of really good people out there to improve the quality of the industry. That’s what it’s about for me – helping bring on the next generation of battery and installers to make sure the industry is strong.
Do you come across much dodgy work?
When you are out doing repair work, you see some stuff that makes you shake your head. It makes you wonder if people are not being trained correctly, or if people are being trained correctly and completely forgetting it. Especially some of the off-grid stuff I come across – you have to ask the question whether it is a training issue or if they are ignoring the training. There will always be people who don’t care, but if you can ensure it is taught properly in the first place, big improvements can be made.