Australia’s largest seller of solar panels, Solar Shop, has been placed in receivership and will be put up for sale.
Ferrier Hodgson were appointed receivers and managers of the Adelaide-based business earlier this week. The company employs 200 people directly and has a dozen display centres around the country.
Ferriers partner John Lindholm said it would be business as usual while the receivers, acting on behalf of secured creditor Westpac, conducted an urgent review of the business. The company includes the Solar Hut businesses.
The receivers could not guarantee the company’s ability to complete about 1500 of Solar Shop’s existing installation contracts.
A Ferrier spokesperson said scheduled installations will continue “while we’re looking for a buyer, but deposits won’t be refunded and they may be lost if a buyer isn’t found.”
Solar Shop’s woes come after a wave of job losses in the solar industry. State and federal governments are winding back subsidies which had seen a boom in installations of rooftop solar panels.
“People who have been watching the renewable energy sector would be aware that there have been a number of regulatory changes that have eroded the value of the certificates attached to renewable energy installations,” said Mr Lindholm.
“This (change) has had a significant impact on Solar Shop as the business structure could not cope with the collapse in the price of STCs (Small-scale Technology Certificates). This business has been hit by the turbulence you’d expect in an emerging sector.”
‘Extremely disappointing’
John Grimes, chief executive of Australian Solar Energy Society, an industry group, said the decision to appoint receivers to such a large national outfit was “extremely disappointing”.
“This is precisely the outcome we’ve been warning governments about,” he said, “particularly with a company with the reputation and standing of Solar Shop.
“Any company could be vulnerable,” Mr Grimes said. “What we urgently need to put in place is that solar safety net. There needs to be a national scheme to provide a fair price for solar.”
Mr Grimes said Solar Shop’s troubles highlight the industry’s difficult transition as governments cut so-called feed-in tariffs for solar panels. The Federal government, meanwhile, has promised to review renewable energy subsidies if a carbon prices is introduced as planned next year.
“A fair price in our view is that people should be paid the same for clean solar power as they pay for coal-fired power from the grid,” he said.
“We’re not looking for a handout, we’re not looking for a premium price to be paid for solar, all we want is a fair go.”
“What’s important I think is that while we’re absolutely committed to a clean energy future, we don’t lose sight of the clean energy present,” said Mr Grimes. “This is precisely the sector and type of jobs that we should be targeting and supporting as our economy transitions to a low-carbon future.
