Safety raised in solar plan
The NSW Government's solar battery program is put at risk by a lack of training in the industry, reports say.
The Berejiklian Government’s Empowering Homes program will provide interest-free loans for up to 300,000 households for the installation of solar-battery systems.
The program will see no-interest loans of up to $9,000 for a battery system or up to $14,000 for a solar battery system offered to owner-occupied households with an annual combined income of up to $180,000.
But internal budget documents obtained by the Greens show the 10-year scheme carries a serious risk of injury and death because an “unprepared workforce” would be called to complete a high rate of installations.
“High installation rate with an unprepared workforce, poor training, poor auditing scheme leads to injury/death/reputational damage,” the documents say.
The document also describes a significant risk of medium- to low-income families being “enticed” into loans without the capacity to them pay back.
The NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment says the document is only a preliminary draft of potential risks, and insists further risk mitigation will take place.
The Greens argue that letting private installers and finance companies deliver the loans increases the risk of “debt traps”.
“Letting private industry write the rules has given us buildings that crack and flammable cladding, it makes no sense to give them millions of public money to roll out anything,” he said.