The peak body representing electrical contractors has called for a nationwide review of solar panel installations after revelations that 5 per cent of those in Port Macquarie in northern NSW contained potentially fatal flaws.
National Electricity and Communications Association chief executive James Tinslay called the figure “massive”, and said the scale of the problem could exceed the Rudd government’s failed home insulation scheme if the findings were reflected nationwide.
Mr Tinslay said botched solar installations put homeowners at risk of fire and electrocution, and a national audit would be likely to cost millions of dollars.
Similar schemes are run by the federal government and other state governments, with the same concerns about the qualifications of people installing the panels.
“From a national perspective I’m worried, because it’s a clear sign that these things are happening in each state.
“I don’t see why the results in NSW would be widely different from anywhere else,” he said.
His comments follow reports that NSW Fair Trading inspectors who visited 55 solar installations in Port Macquarie in February found problems with 16 sites — three serious.
Thirty-five out of 40 installations audited were found not to comply with the Home Building Act.
NSW Fair Trading Minister Anthony Roberts yesterday ordered statewide checks on solar installations, claiming there were 6000 (5 per cent of 120,000) homes he was “really worried about”.
NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell has been under pressure from his back bench since announcing the decision to cut by a third the rate paid to households who generate solar electricity, despite promising ahead of the March state election to retain existing programs.
At a press conference yesterday, Mr O’Farrell denied the audit was a politically motivated smokescreen ahead of a partyroom meeting today, but Mr Roberts last night released a statement confirming he asked the department for an update only last week.
The chief executive of the Australian Solar Energy Society, John Grimes, accused Mr O’Farrell of deliberately leaking the report a day ahead of a planned partyroom meeting at which the solar bonus scheme would be discussed, and said the NSW government’s handling had been “shambolic”.
NECA NSW chief executive Lindsay Le Compte, said he had called on successive governments to tighten solar installation rules.
