Australia’s rapidly growing rooftop solar panel industry lacks adequate regulations to enforce electrical safety standards and guarantee installation by qualified workers, the Electrical Trades Union says.
Union secretary Dean Mighell said many consumers were not aware Australian electrical wiring standards did not apply to the installation of rooftop photovoltaic panels.
”That alone is a huge safety issue. As a consumer, you have no way of knowing what you are getting,” he said.
Mr Mighell accused the Gillard Government of ”lacking political will” to address urgent training, safety and work inspection issues within the solar industry, and has warned solar panels could be ”the next pink batts fiasco” if regulations were not tightened.
But a spokesman for Federal Climate Change Minister Greg Combet said state and territory governments were responsible for regulating electrical safety including solar photovoltaic installations.
Canberra technical skills agency, the ElectroComms and Energy Utilities Industry Skills Council, has called for a new national training regime that will substantially upgrade the qualifications required for photovoltaic installations.
The council’s chief executive, Bob Taylor, said an 18-month ”post-trade level” course was required, similar to an electrical trades Masters degree.
”Many training and accreditation courses simply do not go far enough to address the complexity involved in installing photovoltaics,” he said.
Mr Taylor said Australia faced a critical shortage of skilled workers and technical teachers needed to drive uptake of renewable energy technology and manufacturing.
Mr Mighell said unless tighter safety regulations were adopted, the photovoltaic industry could suffer a similar fate to the federal government’s botched home insulation scheme.
Labor was forced to dump the scheme for households after the deaths of four workers, links to house fires and evidence of widespread rorting.
”Governments are overlooking safety issues in the solar industry because so far, no one has died. They think everything is OK, but it’s not. Basically, you are putting an electricity generator on your roof, and safety cannot be sidelined.”
Mr Mighell said photovoltaic systems were being sold by tele-marketers and ”aggressive door-knocking campaigns that emphasise cheapness, quick installation and the money that can be made by selling electricity back to the grid”.
”People are told the work will be inspected and signed off by a qualified and accredited installer. But the people who do the installation do not have to be qualified electricians,” he said.
Under the current system, installers and designers of household solar systems must be accredited by the Clean Energy Council to be eligible for government initiatives. Only applicants for accreditation to design and install grid connections must have an electrical licence.
Mr Taylor said the council had no legal power to prosecute installers for safety breaches or defective workmanship.
The council has defended its accreditation system, saying it is advised by industry experts and is involved in upgrading Australian standards for solar installation.
