George Christensen (Dawson, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

asked the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, in writing, on 21 June 2011:

(1) In respect of the 30 residential units at the Parkhaven Garden Retirement Village that had solar panels installed under the Solar Homes and Communities program, is he aware that    (a) in the first few months, the power bills actually increased due to an incorrect installation causing 'solar power in' to be metered as power being consumed,    (b) the solar panels were then switched off to fix the problem and sat idly on rooftops for almost six months, and    (c) after the solar panels were switched on again, inspectors found wiring faults that could lead to a house fire in the five units they inspected.

(2) Is he aware that the installation of solar panels at the Parkhaven Garden Retirement Village were installed by a company known as Sanctuary Energy, which changed its name to DCM Solar and then finally to DCM Green before it went into administration.

(3) Did his department do any checks on the ability of this company or its sub-contractors to adequately install solar panels before crediting them through the Solar Homes and Communities program.

(4) When will the solar panels on all 30 residential units at Parkhaven Garden Retirement Village be inspected.

(5) Can he say if it is the Government's intention to fix all faulty solar panels installed under the Solar Homes and Communities program at Parkhaven Garden Retirement Village, and to accept all costs incurred and all legal liability.

Greg Combet (Charlton, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:

(1) The Australian Government is not responsible for electrical safety. This responsibility lies with state and territory governments. The Department worked closely with state and territory authorities to ensure any issues concerning non-compliance with electrical standards are brought to their attention for appropriate action.

(2) As part of standard program administration, the Department maintains records of the installer for each solar system installation funded under the Government's solar programs.

(3) To have been considered eligible for a rebate under the Government's now closed Solar Homes and Communities Plan, solar panel installations must have met stringent safety standards including adherence to Australian Standards and all relevant Commonwealth, state, territory and local government laws and regulations. Program guidelines also required certification by the installer that the installation had met relevant standards, building codes and local council requirements and that they, as the installer, were accredited by the Clean Energy Council (CEC) to install solar panel systems.

The responsibility for arranging installation and choosing a suitably qualified installer rested with the applicant. Contractual arrangements concerning the installation are made between the applicant and the installer. The Department has no involvement in this arrangement.

(4) The Department has been advised that the Electrical Safety Office (Queensland) conducted inspections of solar installations at the Parkhaven Garden Retirement Village and shut down all systems found to have incorrectly wired DC circuit breakers. The Department has been advised that all systems found non-compliant due to incorrectly wired DC circuit breakers have now been rectified by a CEC accredited installer.

(5) The Government is not responsible for electrical safety or the rectification of technical faults associated with installations of solar systems. Any issues concerning faulty parts or an incorrect or incomplete installation are reported to the appropriate state or territory authority and the CEC. If a satisfactory outcome is unable to be reached through these avenues, the householder's remaining option is to engage an accredited installer, at their cost, to have the outstanding issues rectified.