I love the solar industry. I’ve built my career writing about it. But if I’m honest — and I always try to be — there’s a quality problem that the industry doesn’t like discussing publicly.

The numbers tell the story. The Clean Energy Council receives thousands of complaints annually about substandard installations. The ACCC has taken action against multiple solar companies for misleading conduct. And the rate at which solar installation companies fold — leaving customers with no warranty support — is embarrassingly high.

The door-knocker problem

Solar door-knocking operations are the worst offenders. You’ve probably encountered them: young people going suburb to suburb offering “free government solar” or “limited time rebates” that are actually just the standard STC discount dressed up in urgency.

These operations typically subcontract the actual installation to the cheapest available crew, who may or may not be properly qualified. The sales company takes its margin, the installer gets squeezed on price, and quality suffers. When something goes wrong, the sales company points to the installer and the installer points to the sales company, and the customer is stuck in the middle.

I’m not saying every door-knocker operation is bad. But the business model creates incentives that work against quality, and the complaint data bears this out.

The phoenix company problem

In the past five years, dozens of solar companies have gone into administration, leaving thousands of customers without warranty support. Some of these companies reappear under new names, run by the same directors, having shed their warranty obligations through the insolvency process.

This is legal under current Australian corporate law, and it’s a disgrace. Customers who were promised 10-year workmanship warranties are left with nothing. The manufacturer warranty on panels and inverters still exists, but the installation warranty — which covers the work that’s most likely to fail — evaporates.

The CEC’s Solar Retailer Code of Conduct tries to address this, but compliance is voluntary and enforcement is weak. We need stronger regulation, including mandatory insurance bonds or warranty insurance that survives company insolvency.

The training and accreditation gap

To install solar in Australia, you need CEC accreditation, which requires an electrical license plus additional training. In theory, this ensures competence. In practice, the training is minimal and the ongoing compliance monitoring is inadequate.

I’ve seen accredited installers who didn’t understand basic string sizing. I’ve seen installations where the DC isolator was mounted in a location that violated the Australian Standard. I’ve seen roof penetrations that would fail within two years.

The CEC does deaccredit installers who receive multiple complaints, but the threshold is high and the process is slow. By the time an installer loses their accreditation, they may have done hundreds of substandard installations.

What would fix it

I’m not just here to complain. Here’s what I think would meaningfully improve the situation:

Mandatory independent inspections. Every solar installation should be inspected by an independent certifier within 30 days of completion. Yes, this adds cost — maybe $200-300 per system. But it would catch quality issues early and create accountability.

Warranty insurance. Require all solar retailers to carry insurance that covers customer warranties in the event the company ceases trading. This exists in other industries (home building warranty insurance, for example) and should exist in solar.

Stronger CEC enforcement. Give the CEC more resources and authority to audit installers, investigate complaints, and revoke accreditation faster. The current system relies too heavily on customer complaints, which means problems aren’t identified until many customers have been affected.

Restrict phoenix operations. Update corporate law to prevent directors of failed solar companies from immediately starting new operations. Other industries have director liability provisions; solar should too.

Consumer education. The government should fund a clear, independent guide to choosing a solar installer. Not the industry-run resources (which have inherent conflicts of interest), but genuinely independent consumer advice.

The industry’s response

Whenever I raise these issues, industry representatives point to the millions of successful installations, the high overall satisfaction rates, and the tiny percentage of complaints relative to total installations. All true.

But a small percentage of a very large number is still a lot of affected people. And the reputational damage from dodgy operators hurts the entire industry. Every negative experience becomes a story told at barbecues and posted on social media, discouraging others from going solar.

The best solar companies — and there are many of them — should be leading the charge for higher standards, because quality operators benefit most from a clean industry. Some are. Too many aren’t.

I’ll keep calling this out because the Australian solar industry is too important to let quality slip. We’re building the energy infrastructure that’ll power this country for decades. It needs to be done right.