More than 240 solar companies across Australia are at risk of losing millions of dollars unless the Federal Government steps in to address what industry insiders are labelling a national scandal. 

Since 2009, the Federal Government has incentivised the installation of solar systems through the Small-Scale Technology Certificate (STC) rebate scheme. This initiative, designed to promote renewable energy, has operated smoothly for 15 years - until now.

When quoting for solar installations, companies’ factor in the rebate, offering customers a discount upfront. Given the complexities of trading these certificates, many solar companies rely on trading platforms or 'STC aggregators' to handle transactions on their behalf. However, recent developments have revealed a darker side to this arrangement. Certain aggregators have allegedly claimed the rebate from the government but have failed to transfer the funds to the solar companies that rightfully earned them.

According to claims from affected businesses, three aggregators - Net Zero, Emerging Energy, and Greenbot - have collectively traded an astonishing $89 million worth of rebate certificates without passing on the payments. 

"This the equivalent of stockbrokers selling shares on behalf of clients, then keeping all the money for themselves," says Carolyn Lee, Director of The Energy Experts, one of the companies affected. 

“We’re meant to get paid by the aggregators within days, but the trading company we’ve been dealing with, Greenbot, hasn’t responded to phone calls or emails for months.”

The Energy Experts, a small business based in Kiama, is owed $40,000 by Greenbot. They are just one of the hundreds of solar companies caught in this web of deceit, with some businesses facing losses in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, forcing them to lay off staff and scale back operations.

“This is outright fraud. The Government needs to step in,” urges Lee. “So far, there’s been silence from Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen and the Clean Energy Regulator. Solar companies like ours feel like they’ve been left high and dry. Why is no one doing anything about this?”

“While customers remain unaffected by the non-payment, the solar companies bear the brunt of the financial impact. Without swift government action, the scheme remains vulnerable to further exploitation, threatening the viability of hundreds more solar installers across the nation,” says Lee.

The Bugle contacted the Clean Energy Regulator (CER) for comment on the above. A spokesperson said, “We understand and share concerns regarding the impact on small solar PV businesses when agents do the wrong thing. Despite it being out of our legislative remit to assist with matters of non-payment, we have been helping those owed money by referrals to relevant agencies and providing as much information as possible on the status of small-scale technology certificates (STCs) for which payment is owed. We have shared information with State and Territory consumer affairs bodies and the ACCC who are the regulators responsible for payment matters.”

They went on to inform that, “On 11 June 2024, we permanently suspended the registration of Greenbot Pty Ltd and subsequently terminated the deed for the Greenbot solar panel validation app. This meant that Greenbot could no longer create renewable energy certificates, including STCs.”

“On 3rd July 2024, the Federal Court issued a temporary stay of the decisions to (i) suspend Greenbot as a registered entity under the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme and (ii) terminate the deed allowing Greenbot to be an app provider under the Solar Panel Validation (SPV) Initiative. The Court’s order means that Greenbot will be allowed to create certificates in the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme, and to participate in the SPV Initiative, while the Court is reviewing the matter. We cannot discuss this matter further as it is currently before the courts.”

“On 24th July 2024, Emerging Energy Solutions Group went into liquidation. Worrells have been appointed as the liquidator and have issued advice to creditors which states “we were advised that the Company ceased to trade around July 2023. Our preliminary investigations have revealed that the Company’s business and assets may have been transferred to a related party. We are presently undertaking investigations as to whether the transfer of the business and assets may have constituted illegal phoenix activity, which is a strict liability offence pursuant to the provisions of the Corporations Act (2001) (“the Act”)”. We will monitor the results of any investigation and assist where we can.”

CER have established a web page for Participants impacted by Greenbot suspension.

Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen’s office told The Bugle that the CER was responsible for handling this matter.

Further background reading:

The Renewable Energy Target is an Australian Government scheme in which large and small scale renewable energy systems are able to generate renewable energy certificates, which must be purchased by liable entities (most often electricity providers) and surrendered back to the CER. This in turn provides a financial incentive for the installation of renewable energy systems.

The CER manages the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES) which creates a financial incentive in the form of STCs for households and small businesses to install eligible small generations units which include solar photovoltaic panels, wind turbines, hydro systems, solar water heaters and air source heat pumps. 

Under the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000, only system owners can create STCs or assign the right to create certificates to registered agent. They may assign their rights to create STCs to a “registered person” who is known in the SRES as a registered agent. To become a registered agent, you must first undergo a fit and proper person test.   

The following is the business model commonly used for claiming and trading STCs. It should be noted that the CER offers processes for system owners to claim and trade their own STCs.

• A homeowner will assign the right to create STCs to a registered agent that is suggested by the solar retailer. 
• In return for that assignment, the solar retailer will provide an upfront discount on the price of the system and installation - this is usually around 30% of the overall cost. 
• The solar retailer receives a payment from the registered agent in return for the certificates. 
• Solar retailers choose which agent they enter into a contractual agreement with.  
• The assignment of the right to create certificates must meet the criteria to be lawful otherwise the certificates will not be registered by the CER. 

CER’s role is to ensure certificates are created properly according to law. The CER does not have oversight, or statutory ability or authority to enquire, of the commercial arrangements put in place by industry participants. Contractual matters including non-payment should be directed to state and territory fair trading bodies as well as Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

The CER provides information to other regulatory agencies where it may assist in matters within their remit, including matters relating to STC non-payment.