Australia’s Clean Energy Council (CEC) has been named the product listing body for solar PV modules and inverters eligible under the Australian government’s small-scale renewable energy scheme (SRES).
The Federal government initiative encourages investment in small-scale renewable energy technologies, including rooftop solar PV, solar water heaters, and air-sourced heat pumps.
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The CEC has been reappointed to the role after being nominated by the Clean Energy Regulator (CER) in July 2024. This enables the organisation to determine each product’s eligibility to be listed for small-scale technology certificates in the SRES.
The Council plans to implement several reforms to the scheme. Upcoming changes include streamlining processes, allowing applicants to easily track their applications, enhancing customer service and response times, and improving communication regarding programme updates.
Additionally, programme governance will be strengthened through the establishment of a manufacturer working group and regular performance reporting to the industry and the CER.
Under the SRES scheme, consumers are entitled to small-scale technology certificates, which can be sold to recoup a portion of the cost of purchasing and installing the system. This has helped bolster installed rooftop solar PV capacity, which in 2023 surpassed 20GW across Australia. However, this has slowed in recent months, sparking the CEC to call for a national strategy to bolster uptake in early June.
The product listing under the SRES only covers solar modules and inverters, it doesn’t cover batteries.
Clean Energy Council chief executive Kane Thornton said the organisation is proud to continue its stewardship of the products assurance role for small-scale renewable energy and will now focus on enhancing the programme.
“Small-scale renewables are a critical and growing segment of Australia’s clean energy future, driven by millions of households and businesses,” Thornton said.
“Our focus and indeed our application to the Clean Energy Regulator included a detailed plan for program improvement and we have already taken steps to drive enhancements including improving the user experience through our online product listings and we have doubled the capacity of our Products team and are actively working to bring on more staff to meet what are unprecedented levels of demand.”
