Solar subsidy phase-out

Adelaide Advertiser
24 June 2011, Page: 23

Australians have been queueing up to get on to the bandwagon but the experience of going solar is starting to turn sour for many as waiting times blow out to up to six months. Many are now caught in a logjam of thousands trying to flick the switch on green power as quickly as possible before federal and state solar subsidies are phased out. Solar subsidies, which helped the industry find its feet under the Howard Government years, are on the way out, creating a number of network connection, resource and supply issues for the industry.

From making a decision to buy the solar panels, to installing them, and to actually connecting them to the grid is taking anywhere between two and six months, irrespective of size or value of the installation. This is largely because of the demand caused by the phasing out of the existing state solar feed in tariff scheme and the federal solar certificates scheme. Adrian Ferraretto, from the SA Solar Panel Industry Group, said consumers could be forced to wait up to six months to have panels installed.

Under an amended state solar feed in tariff scheme passed yesterday, every household that generates solar power and feeds excess power back to the grid gets 44¢ from the energy retailer until 2028, with this scheme closing for new entrants on September 30. New entrants signing up before September 30, 2013, will get only 16¢ (plus 6¢ from their retailer) until September 30, 2016.

South Australia was the first state to introduce a feed in tariff scheme in July 2008 and it will run until 2028. But all states are now phasing them out because of the cost burden shared by all power customers in every state with a scheme. Anyone deciding to install a solar panel system today would first need to pick a solar retailer and they are a dime a dozen.

Choosing an accredited supplier with a good track record is best because the boom in the industry has left the door open to a number of dodgy installers. This is especially important, given that the installation contract comes with a 30 year warranty for the panels, a five year warranty for the electricity inverter and a five year warranty for the workmanship.

In the case of Solar Shop, customers contact the call centre first and are asked to choose between having a detailed phone conversation, visiting a branch, and having a renewable energy advisor come in for a free house consult. Most decide on a house consult, which follows two weeks later. The visit includes site/roof assessment and finding out what the customer wants reduction in electricity bills, excess power generation to take advantage of solar feed in tariffs, or both.

A north facing roof is ideal for installations. The advisor provides a quote based on the needs, pricing, available subsidies, discounts and any financing facilities the customer wants to use. Customers can then take up to 14 days to decide on the quote, following which a contract is signed and a 10% deposit paid to the solar panel retailer.

The installer co ordinates with ETSA to get permission to connect to the electricity grid, which then needs to be approved by the customer's energy retailer. It is sent back to ETSA for a date at which an import-export meter can be installed, which allows electricity generated to be put into the electricity grid and the house to draw any electricity it needs. A shortage of import-export meters saw waiting times for connection to the grid balloon by up to four months in May.

However, a spokesman said an increase in installer resources, coupled with a reliable new supply of meters, had allowed some bookings to be brought forward. Customers calling ETSA today would get a booking for a meter in the second half of August. That means panels can be sitting on a customer's roof for at least two months before they are connected to the grid. Once the meter is installed, customers can be paid for all the electricity they generate. Currently about 41,888 households have solar installations and there are more than 26,789 households waiting to be connected.