Nearly 500 rooftop solar installs under investigation for alleged STC fraud

Another potentially significant case of solar rebate fraud is under investigation by the Clean Energy Regulator, with search warrants executed this week on residential and commercial addresses connected to a Perth-based solar business.

The Regulator says the business is under investigation for allegedly fabricating information about the responsible installer and designer of almost 500 rooftop PV installations, worth around $1.5 million in Small-scale Technology Certificates (STCs), issued under the federal Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES).

CER general manager of compliance, Piet Powell, says the search warrants aim to uncover evidence of false information being provided to the Regulator, resulting in the improper creation of STCs, which are claimed by installers as a rebate.

“Agents, installers, and retailers who fail to adequately ensure that STCs are eligible for creation or are party to the provision of false and misleading information, may face criminal, civil or administrative action,” Powell said in a statement on Friday.

“The Clean Energy Regulator requires the very highest standards of compliance and integrity within its Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES) for the financial incentives given. SRES eligibility requirements include complying with state and territory electrical regulatory requirements.”

Powell says that, at this stage, the Regulator doesn’t have any direct evidence that suggests the installations are either unsafe or substandard.

“We are working with the relevant regulator in Western Australia and homeowners will be contacted if evidence becomes available of concerns with installation quality,” she said.

The new investigation in Perth follows the July conviction of a Canberra-based solar installer, for providing false or misleading documents in the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme.

The company, B and J Finnigan Pty Ltd (trading as A1 Electrical), was fined and had its accreditation cancelled for a year after being found to have submitted compliance paperwork that falsely recorded sole director Bradley Finnigan as the responsible installer of solar systems despite him being overseas at the time.

Powell says compliance is a top priority for the regulator, particularly since the December 2021 tightening of the rules governing the federal small-scale solar rebate, including strict new conditions for the sale and installation of rooftop panels.

One of the biggest changes, as One Step Off The Grid has reported, has been to the documentation required from rooftop solar installers, designers, agents and retailers when making claims for STCs.

For designers and installers of rooftop solar systems, the new documentation includes a written compliance statement confirming all relevant design and install standards have been met according to the requirements of both the SRES scheme and local, state and territory rules.

Statements must also confirm that the installer has a copy of the design and the system was installed by the book, including the electrical work being done by a licenced electrician, using PV modules and inverters approved under the SRES scheme.

Further, accredited installers must provide evidence demonstrating they have physically installed or physically supervised the installation, such as time-stamped “selfie” photos of this in action, including during job set up, during mid-installation check-up, and during testing and commissioning.