DANIEL MERCER, The West Australian Updated December 23, 2011, 2:50 am
Thousands of rooftop solar panels in WA pose a potential fire risk, according to a report by the State's electricity safety watchdog that highlights widespread defects in the quality of installations.
EnergySafety will release the result today of an audit of 260 household solar panels which reveals a staggering rate of botched jobs, many of which are either an immediate or long-term safety risk.
The report, which was commissioned in June amid the rapid take-up of solar panels in WA, found 12 per cent of solar panels were incorrectly wired and posed "a potential fire hazard".
It also found that 11 per cent of installations had wires which were not properly protected and could eventually become a safety risk.
A further 27 per cent had minor defects such as missing labels.In total, half the solar panels inspected had some form of defect.
Describing the findings as unacceptable and a serious concern, EnergySafety advised anyone with solar panels to contact their installer or network operator if they were unsure about their system's safety.
Don Saunders, the watchdog's acting director, said generous State and Federal government incentives had fuelled the explosion in demand for solar panels and indirectly led to some of the problems.
But Mr Saunders said the lion's share of the blame lay with the solar companies and installers, who were sometimes being lax or cutting corners to capitalise on the booming demand.
"Whoever the seller of the system is has the overarching responsibility," Mr Saunders said.
"They are supposed to deliver an installation that is correct in all respects.
"The industry has been under pressure and, of course, there is this temptation to cut corners when the rate of installation has just been so high."
Mr Saunders put the industry on notice, saying EnergySafety, Western Power and Horizon Power would be increasing their vigilance against dodgy installations and cracking down on rogue operators.
He also urged households and businesses which bought solar panels to demand electricity safety certificates that stipulated their system's quality.
The WA branch of the National Electricity and Communications Association said the findings were hugely concerning and called for an overhaul of the laws governing solar installers.
Kyle Kutasi, the association's WA general manager, said current regulations were ad hoc or missing entirely.
He said regulatory gaps and massive demand for solar panels were enticing unqualified and inexperienced operators into the market.
"There's a large portion of the work that's not being done by licensed electrical contractors," Mr Kutasi said.
"We have been saying for while that those guys are advertising electrical contracting services and therefore they're contracting illegally.
"But we keep being told that that's not the view being held by the State Solicitor."
←がれきだけでなく、太陽光パネルも燃やす気マンマンの北橋市長（BY管理人）
