RACV Solar buys up another regional Victoria rooftop PV installer

Victorian rooftop solar provider RACV Solar has continued on its buying spree around the state this week with the announcement on Wednesday that it has bought up Bendigo-based regional outfit Cola Solar.

Cola Solar, which was founded more than a decade ago by Kaye and Tony Ruff, said on its website that the business had been acquired by RACV Solar on April 1, and would switch over to the new company branding at the start of the new financial year.

The Ruffs said the 40-person team of Cola Solar employees, including installers, engineers, office staff and consultants would stay on in the business “with the added support and backing of one of Victoria’s most trusted brands.”

Tony and Kaye Ruff also said that the timing of the acquisition was good, because they had been considering retirement – Tony will stay in the business for a year to help with the transition, and Kaye will stay on in a consulting role.

“The couple are delighted in the knowledge that their customers and staff will be looked after into the future,” a company announcement said.

As well as winning the GE Platinum Retailer of the Year 2021 for Commercial Solutions last year, Cola Solar has delivered a number of impressive and unique projects, including the installation of 80 of Sunman Energy’s 370W flexible solar panels on its own roof – the first Sunman solar panel installation in Regional Victoria.

RACV Solar said the new acquisition would further expand its offerings to homeowners and businesses across central Victoria while investing in local business, jobs and the economy, and providing the best support for customers.

“We’re thrilled to welcome the Cola Solar team and continue to provide the same level of quality service that customers have come to expect,” RACV Solar said.

The former motoring group turned insurance company and now home energy solutions provider has been on a buying spree since its acquisition of Gippsland Solar back in late 2019.

Since then, the company – led by Gippsland Solar founder and CEO Andy McCarthy – has been beefing up its presence in the residential and commercial PV market, partly by buying up smaller regional players.

“Exponential growth is the plan,” McCarthy said at the time of the Gippsland Solar RACV Solar merger.

“We want to really separate ourselves from the cheaper end of the market, which is to say we want to extend what we’re currently doing.”

Since then, the smaller regional companies RACV Solar has acquired include Great Ocean Solar and Electrical, and – just last month – the Merrimbula arm of Pacific Solar.

The parent company, meanwhile, has extended itself further into the home energy market with a retail electricity offering, called Arcline by RACV.

The new product was unveiled last month in Victoria, offering Energy Locals’ trademark combination of fixed wholesale retail rates and a “transparent” fixed monthly fee, as well as carbon offsets for all usage and the option to source green power.

Interestingly, RACV is not Australia’s only motoring and insurance group to shift into the solar business. RACQ in Queensland last week took a majority stake in one of that state’s largest and most successful solar companies, Gem Energy.

RACQ, which in its 100-plus years of existence has grown from offering motoring services to insurance and banking, said on Tuesday it had made the acquisition having successfully collaborated with Gem Energy on solar installs for members over the past two years.

“We’re now looking to deepen that relationship and help members live more securely and sustainably,” said RACQ CEO David Carter in a statement.