Queensland seeks to change rules so only electricians can install solar, fix EVs

Queensland is bouncing back from a rule change killed by the Supreme Court in 2019 that would have seen electricians install all solar panels in the state.

It is proposing a watered-down version which would see licensed electricians required to supervise solar panel installations, alongside other reforms that include requiring only licensed electricians to do any servicing and repairs on electrical components of electric vehicles (EVs) either in a garage or in road-side breakdowns.

The moves are part of a reform to the Electrical Safety Act 2002, which started in 2020 and came back with 83 recommendations dealing with issues ranging from the scope of the Act and coverage of emerging energy generation and storage technologies, hydrogen-based electricity generation, off-grid generation, and regulatory, licensing, and supply chain duties reform.

It is currently open for public consultation.

The recommendation on solar panels wants to see electricians handle all connections and testing, and to directly supervise, if not doing it themselves, cable installation and panel mounting.

SolarEdge technical director James Sturch says the language around “direct” supervision likely means an electrician needs to be on site, watching the work.

“At the end of the day it’s going to push up the cost of installations without any tangible benefit because there is no real electrical safety risk on commercial installations,” he told RenewEconomy.

“All this is really going to achieve is having a lot of qualified people standing around watching other people doing things.”

The reforms are in response to attempts by the state in 2019 to controversially require only licensed electricians to mount and fix solar panels on projects of 100kW and over — effectively ruling out anyone with an electrician qualification from even doing the heavy-lifting of moving panels into place.

The rule was declared “invalid” in the Queensland Supreme Court, after a legal challenge by a solar farm developer.

At the time solar installers called it a “cheap shot” at a booming industry, and projects such as the commercial installation of a 3.2MW rooftop array installed at the processing plant of Primo Smallgoods in the Brisbane suburb of Wacol wouldn’t have been possible.

Danin Kahn, the CEO of Todae Solar, said the 9,700 panels system were completed in less than five months after it was announced by employing around 30 unlicensed workers, but it would have been “rendered unfeasible” by such a rule.

Bringing solar into the Act

The final report from the review said the failure of the government’s 2019 rule to stand up in court was due to solar panels not being captured under the Act as individual panels are extra-low voltage devices.

“The solution is to explicitly include within the definition of ‘electrical equipment’ solar panels when connected to be of a combined voltage of greater than extra low voltage. The same approach is open in respect of connected battery cells,” the review report said.

The plan is to include solar panels, EVs and batteries in the Act and to add a new section that would capture new extra-low voltage devices under the definition of “electrical equipment”, and would include off-grid generation.

In this way the Act will be able to regulate a range of new technologies and ensure safety standards.

“The Palaszczuk Government wants to ensure this Act is fit for purpose and keeps pace with changes in technology – that’s why we want Queenslanders to have their say,” said minister for industrial relations Grace Grace.

“We know how much technology and electricity use has changed since 2002 and that’s why we commissioned a review of the Act.

“I encourage the community to have their say by providing feedback during the consultation periods, and I thank everyone who contributes.”