Solar installer faces jail, as regulator investigates fraud allegations

A Western Australia solar retailer and installer faces a possible jail term, with an investigation underway into allegations of a $1.7 million fraud, including the alleged fabrication of information for almost 550 solar panel installations.

The Clean Energy Regulator, which oversees the federal Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme that subsidises rooftop solar installations, said it has this week executed a search warrant on three Perth addresses connected to the un-named company.

The CER said that investigators were seeking evidence of fraudulent activity and of false information being provided to the regulator that had resulted in the improper creation of roughly $1.7 million worth of Small-scale Technology Certificates (STCs).

“At the conclusion of the investigation, consideration will be given as to whether a brief of evidence will be referred to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions,” the CER said.

“If criminal charges are laid, a person could face up to 10 years in jail for fraud related offences.”

News of the investigation comes just over one month after the introduction of a suite of new rules governing the retail and installation of rooftop solar panels around Australia, in a bid to further weed out shonky operators and dodgy practices.

The SRES reforms were the result of the recommendations of an Integrity Review of the Rooftop Solar PV Sector that was commissioned by federal energy minister Angus Taylor in mid-2020.

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 photos of this in action, including during job set up, during mid-installation check-up, and during testing and commissioning.

“The Clean Energy Regulator is absolutely committed to the very highest standards of integrity and treats any breaches seriously,” the CER said on Thursday.

“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.”