In mid-2020, the former federal government conducted a review of the rooftop solar sector. The review came about due to the exceptional growth in the rooftop solar PV sector and varied reports related to consumer issues. Thirteen recommendations to improve the Small-Scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES) regulatory environment were made, some of which have already been implemented.
One of these recommendations was to give the Clean Energy Regulator ‘the power to approve eligible installer accreditation schemes’ under the SRES. Specifically, this would ‘allow for one or more bodies to be selected to administer these’ schemes. The stated intention of this recommendation is to ‘help ensure the relevance, quality and value of installer accreditation processes, with flow-on benefits to consumers’. The application for potential scheme operators has opened and will be open for 3 months.
Currently, before designing or installing a small generation unit eligible under the SRES, you must be accredited by the Clean Energy Council (CEC) to do so. The CEC has warned that multiple accrediting bodies could be detrimental to the industry and to consumers, noting that ‘a single accrediting body would result in greater responsibility and accountability to respond to, and address, the broad range of emerging and associated challenges and issues that arise in the industry’.
Further information regarding changes to the system can be found on the regulators webpage.
