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Last week the Clean Energy Council announced their formerly voluntary Approved Solar Retailer Scheme would be — with the smallest of fig leafs — made mandatory for all companies installing residential rooftop solar power systems in Victoria. This means installers are faced with joining the scheme — if they can — or going out of business or moving out of state. <\/p>\n
Large installers with a presence in multiple states may be able to survive without Victorian sales, but many small local installers are likely to see their businesses destroyed if they are one of the 40% of companies knocked back from joining the scheme1<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\n Making the Approved Retailer status effectively mandatory is a betrayal of trust by the Approved Retailer Scheme (and also the Clean Energy Council as a whole, because mud sticks).\u00a0 It is a terrible thing to do because:<\/p>\n Finn wrote about the possibility of this happening<\/a> two weeks ago and I’m writing about it now because it’s important.\u00a0 When an obvious communist like me, who is clearly a clone of Karl Marx<\/a>, starts worrying that something is anti-market and anti-business you know things are serious.<\/p>\n Karl Marx or Karl Brarx?<\/p><\/div>\n All solar installers are CEC Accredited, which means they are qualified to safely install solar.\u00a0 This is not voluntary as an installer has to be CEC Accredited to install solar power systems that are permitted to be connected to the grid.<\/p>\n A CEC Approved Solar Retailer is different from being CEC Accredited.\u00a0 It is — or was — voluntary and you can read about the difference between the two here<\/a>.\u00a0 If a company decided to join, and the CEC Approved Retailer Scheme accepted their application, they would have to:<\/p>\n This is not easy to do, but companies that became CEC Approved Solar Retailers could present their status as evidence they do quality work and homeowners were free to decide whether or not to buy from them as they saw fit.<\/p>\n Being an approved retailer allowed installers to charge a premium over the competition.\u00a0 This was important because otherwise there wouldn’t be much point in going through all that effort from a business point of view.\u00a0 But this advantage will disappear if everyone in the state is forced to become an Approved Retailer, as there will be no competition from installers who aren’t in the scheme.\u00a0 Making it compulsory will destroy the value of the scheme to installers.<\/p>\n From the 1st of November this year all installers must be CEC Approved Solar Retailers for their systems to receive the up to $2,2253<\/a><\/sup> Victorian Solar Homes Package rebate<\/a> and large installers will have to be members by the 1st of July.<\/p>\n A section of the latest CEC Approved Solar Retailer update.<\/p><\/div>\n I want to make it clear being an Approved Retailer will effectively become mandatory in Victoria.\u00a0 There is no way it can honestly be described as voluntary.\u00a0 If someone claims it is they are either a liar or don’t understand how business works.\u00a0 Either way, they don’t deserve your attention.\u00a0 Stating that being an Approved Solar Retailer is voluntary because installers can “voluntarily” decide to go out of business by not joining is absurd.4<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n If you had a choice between two products that were — as far as you could tell — identical and around the same price, which would you choose?\u00a0 The one that would give you no rebate or the one that would give you a $2,225 dollar rebate?\u00a0 Obviously, you’d have to have a hole in your head large enough to put your hand in to search for your missing brain if you decided to go with the no rebate option.\u00a0 This is the situation residential solar installers that aren’t Approved Solar Retailers will be in before the year is out in Victoria.<\/p>\n At the moment it is possible to have a decent quality solar power system installed for around $1,000 per kilowatt.\u00a0 In Victoria the most commonly installed solar systems are 5-6 kilowatts in size.\u00a0 So for a 5 kilowatt system the rebate will almost halve the cost to a household:<\/p>\n Obviously, no one is going to choose an installer whose system will end up costing them around 40% more. I would say that anyone who thinks becoming an Approved Solar Retailer in Victoria is voluntary is nuttier than a chipmunk’s cheek pouches in a pecan packing plant, but that would be funny and this isn’t funny.\u00a0 People’s livelihoods are at risk because through no fault of their own.<\/p>\n\n
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What Is A CEC Approved Retailer?<\/h2>\n
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What Is Happening In Victoria?<\/h2>\n
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It Is Effectively Mandatory<\/h2>\n
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