Ingenero sells sunshine to the Sunny Coast

Courier Mail
Friday 16/4/2010 Page: 46

A QUEENSLAND solar company is providing clean energy alternatives across Australia. Brisbane-based Ingenero has helped more than 300 Queensland schools generate their own electricity and has installed solar power to 1000 roofs on the Sunshine Coast. The company has recently installed solar power systems on the roofs of Woolworths petrol stations that feed energy into the ACT power grid. Chief executive officer Steve McRae is one of the founders of Ingenero and says that while Australia has great resources of solar energy, the marketplace is still underdeveloped.

"Even though solar has been around for a long time, people have not always considered it to be important," Mr McRae says. "However, that sentiment is changing and will continue to change due to the increasing prices of black electricity and environmental impact surrounding all that." He says government rebates have helped encourage residential customers to switch to solar. "Ingenero entered the marketplace over two years ago, originally in the commercial and industrial space, but a little over 12 months ago we broadened into the residential marketplace, which now makes up the majority of our customers."

Mr McRae says the market for residential and commercial solar energy systems is strong. "Certainly the Government reducing support for solar hot water had slowed the market down," he says. "However, the good news is that the Queensland Government has announced a state government rebate of $600 in addition to the Federal Government's $1000, which has taken the market up to what it was previously."

The recent overhaul of the Federal Government's Building and Education Revolution program has also had no impact as Ingenero is installing solar systems to existing schools, not new structures. Mr McRae credits the company's success to a strong management team and capital to invest in the business. "We were able to build a solar systems integration laboratory at Boonah, where we could bring products in from overseas and test them in an Australian environment," he says.

This testing laboratory is also available to students as part of a research agreement with the University of Queensland. Mr McRae warns people wanting to switch to solar to do their research to get the best deal. "There's currently a lot of noise in the solar industry so people considering solar should make sure that they compare the facts and the technology with an economic point of view," he says. "There's a certain level of education that needs to happen in the marketplace in general so people feel comfortable with the technology and., the economics surrounding it."

So why switch to solar? Apart from doing your bit for the environment, it can earn you money, as households are plugged into the energy grid. In Queensland, if your household produces excess energy (measured in kW hours) to what it uses, you can see a credit on your electricity bill. Finance plans with some solar energy suppliers ensure you earn money from day one without paying upfront charges for installations. Rebates are available and the Federal Government says it plans to improve subsidies to householders for solar power systems and solar hot water from January 1 next year.