“White hot rage:” PV industry begs governments to do better on solar switch-off

Plans to make a rooftop solar switch-off mechanism mandatory in New South Wales are being described as the “single biggest issue” facing the state’s solar industry and PV system owners, amid warnings that another bungled state rollout could cost tens of millions in lost revenue and grind business to a halt.

Finer details of the NSW Emergency Backstop Mechanism – measures to restrict solar exports during emergencies to prevent blackouts and maintain grid reliability – were revealed to industry last Friday, ahead of plans to make compliance with the mechanism mandatory later this year.

For solar installers and consumers, this means that all solar systems installed or upgraded from the implementation date – likely to be sometime in Spring 2025 – must be compliant with technical requirements that allow it to be controlled remotely and switched off during emergencies.

But the industry is warning that the NSW government and network companies must avoid making the same mistakes as Victoria, where the rushed implementation of a mandatory backstop mechanism in October last year caused chaos for installers and eroded the trust of consumers.

The use of emergency solar switch-off powers – or the Big Solar Button, as it is sometimes called – first came into play in Australia in 2020.

That was when South Australia introduced its Smarter Homes regulation, requiring all new residential rooftop solar systems to be able to disconnect and reconnect from the grid via a third party “relevant agent,” as and when directed to by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AMEO).

Since then, AEMO has called for emergency rooftop solar switch-off mechanisms to be set up across the national electricity market, to better control the more than four million solar systems installed around the country, representing about 25.5 GW of potential generation capacity.

“That’s more than seven Eraring power stations at full output, and capable of meeting almost half [48%] of our energy demand when the sun is shining at its brightest,” AEMO chief Daniel Westerman said in a speech in late 2023.

Queensland, Western Australia and Victoria have all since heeded AEMO’s call, each in their own peculiar ways and with mixed levels of efficacy.

And while much of the surrounding debate has revolved around the impact on consumers – and the reliance on “blunt tools” over smart controls – for installers, the race to adapt to different sets of rules and technical guidelines from state to state and network to network has been a nightmare.

In Victoria, in particular – where three different network companies took three different approaches – the rushed implementation of a mandatory backstop mechanism has generated what Smart Energy Council’s Wayne Smith describes as “white hot anger amongst the solar industry.”

“People were quitting, especially a lot of administrative people that were dealing with it, installers were leaving the industry …businesses going under,” the SEC’s policy lead for electricity, Connor Price, told Renew Economy on Tuesday.

“Millions was lost, basically, in additional time and effort and it got to the point where … mental health became a huge discussion point, because people were very much breaking.”

The SEC says Victoria is now working on getting its act together, led by some “fantastic” engagement from Solar Victoria and through the establishment of an industry reference group where installers and network companies can nut out the major problems.

But the concern remains in NSW that the same mistakes will be made, at a time when the industry and consumers are quickly losing faith – and businesses are struggling to survive.

“The experience with emergency backstop in Victoria has basically killed the social licence from the industry for emergency backstop anywhere in Australia,” Price says.

“There’s an opinion out there … that they’re just gonna stuff it up.

“We strongly hope they won’t, and if they continue listening to industry they should be on a good path to avoiding the situation in Victoria.”

To this end, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) held a meeting in Sydney with representatives of the NSW government and network companies to make sure installers views were “heard loud and clear.”

The SEIA said in an emailed update on Monday that the nearly hour-long session was “courteous and respectful, but absolutely no punches were pulled.”

“In summing up, MC Nigel Morris said ‘We are extremely grateful that you (the DNSP & government delegates) came today and have been transparent about what you are planning, it’s step 1 of the process.

“‘But we implore you to not stop there like your Victorian counterparts who cost Victorian businesses and solar owners more than $50 million dollars in lost revenue as a consequence of botching their scheme and failing to listen to industry.

“‘Please don’t [expletive] this up the way they did’.”

The SEC, meanwhile, has delivered a lengthy submission to the NSW government, calling for a national emergency backstop mechanism that is consistent across networks and jurisdictions, rather than a state by state approach. And if they can’t have that, then they want more time.

“If a New South Wales backstop mechanism is found to be absolutely essential, due to the failure of Australian governments to agree to a nationally consistent approach, such a scheme should not begin until Spring 2026,” SEC CEO John Grimes says.

“This would allow the solar and battery industry sufficient time to ensure it is ready to meet the needs of a single, relatively small (in global terms) jurisdiction.”

The SEC also wants more of a focus from governments and regulators on finding other, more productive ways to solve the problems of minimum demand – namely through a federal support scheme for home batteries.

“A National Battery Booster Scheme to support the uptake of home solar batteries … will reduce the need for an emergency backstop mechanism,” Grimes says.

“Australians’ strong support for household solar should be seen as an opportunity to be harnessed, rather than a problem to be managed.

“This requires a change in mindset from regulators and policy makers. It requires the harnessing of the market to drive innovation, rather than the stifling of entrepreneurship and it requires decision-makers to understand the implications of decisions for businesses in a highly competitive global market.”