Australia’s Clean Energy Regulator (CER) has permanently suspended the registration of another rooftop solar installer, banning it from participation in the federal solar and battery rebate.
The CER says a recent investigation into a company named “Hello Solar” found it to be affiliated with three other companies which have all had their registrations permanently suspended by the CER, including Emerging Energy Solutions Group, NetZero Environmental Group, and Greenbot.
According to the regulator, after further investigation of the company’s conduct, it was “no longer satisfied that Hello Solar was a fit and proper person” for the purposes of the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000 (REE Act).
Specifically, Hello Solar was found by the CER to “have provided misleading responses when the CER asked them to provide information.”
The Clean Energy Regulator does not specify the company’s Australian Business Number (ABN) and identifies the company only as “Hello Solar Pty Ltd”.
Last year, Hello Renewable Trading and Hello Solar were caught up in publicly aired investigations into Emerging Energy Solutions Group Pty Ltd, a rooftop solar certificate aggregator which went into liquidation owing creditors over $86 million.
Emerging Energy had its registration permanently suspended by the CER last September following the appointment of liquidators and allegations of improper conduct via its Greenbot app.
As One Step Off the Grid has reported, a suspension order preventing online trading platform Greenbot from generating certificates through the federal government’s rooftop solar rebate was reinstated in October last year.
The CER in June had “permanently suspended” the registration of Greenbot, alleging that the platform had failed to meet its regulated requirements under the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES).
Greenbot disputed the decision and the Federal Court issued a temporary stay on the CER’s suspension order in the first week of July.
The Federal Court removed the stay on the compliance action on October 18, but continued the stay on the regulator’s decision to terminate the deed allowing Greenbot to be an app provider under the Solar Panel Validation (SPV) Initiative.
Other companies with ties to Hello Solar noted in this week’s CER announcement include NetZero Environmental Group Pty Ltd.
While the CER does not provide specifics detailing Hello Solar’s alleged impropriety, the CER’s boilerplate condemnation speaks volumes, saying that registered agents and their executive officers of such companies “have significant responsibilities when participating in the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES) to ensure the integrity of the scheme.
“Registered agents must remain fit and proper persons and are responsible for reporting any changes that may affect their status. This includes certain criminal convictions or breaches of the SRES or other schemes administered by the CER.
“The CER monitors registered agents and may require agents to provide information in relation to their participation in the SRES,” a statement said on Tuesday.
“Providing false or misleading information to the CER, including omitting important information, may result in the CER suspending an agent’s registration so that they can no longer create small-scale technology certificates or large-scale generation certificates.
“Providing false or misleading information to the CER may also result in criminal prosecution.”
