The Clean Energy Council, the peak body for Australia’s renewable energy sector, welcomes today’s appointment by the Clean Energy Regulator (CER) as the product assurance body for small-scale renewables, including solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, inverters and modules.
Clean Energy Council Chief Executive, Kane Thornton, said the Clean Energy Council is proud to continue its stewardship of the products assurance role for small-scale renewables and will now be focused on enhancing the program.
“Small scale renewables are a critical and growing segment of Australia’s clean energy future, driven by millions of households and businesses,” he 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.”
Changes in the immediate pipeline include streamlining processes and providing applicants with transparent tracking of their applications, a stronger focus on customer service and response times and clearer communication on program updates, as well as uplifting program governance through the establishment of a manufacturer working group and performance reporting to industry and the Clean Energy Regulator.
Together with our Products team, we will continue to work at pace to provide certainty and efficiency for product manufacturers and ensure Australians have access to safe and reliable PV modules, inverters and batteries.Kane Thornton Clean Energy Council Chief Executive
“We look forward to continuing a productive relationship with the Clean Energy Regulator and, importantly, an emphasis on actively engaging with industry in relation to product listings,” Mr Thornton said.
In welcoming today’s news, Mr Thornton said that the success of the distributed energy sector in Australia remains a top priority for the Clean Energy Council.
“While we chose not to apply to be the Installer Accreditation body, with that function transferring to Solar Accreditation Australia earlier this year, our program and policy focus on this part of the sector remains strong.
“In addition to being the product listing body, we are the administrator of the New Energy Tech Consumer Code (NETCC) and our policy and advocacy work, which just this year has seen us produce a consumer energy resources roadmap, is focused on securing the policy settings that increase the uptake of rooftop solar and home batteries by consumers and drive activity for installers,” he said.
ENDS
For more information or to arrange an interview, contact:
Liam Straughan
Clean Energy Council Media Officer
+61 409 470 683