Heat over solar saver scheme

BY SALLY KIDSON

Nelson City Council's Solar Saver Scheme has come under fire from the solar industry, with a spokesman saying picking four businesses in the programme is unfair on other solar businesses and will hurt the region's industry long term.

 

The council says that while it understands the disappointment of the businesses not chosen for the programme, it has modelled the scheme on similar council-run projects which have a limited number of contractors, and it wanted to make it cost-effective and easy for ratepayers to use.

The council launched its $9 million solar programme last month and chose four solar hot-water-system suppliers to take part in the loan scheme after going through an independent tender process.

The initiative aims to get 1700 Nelson homes to install solar water heating during the next four years, with residents paying back the loan plus interest through their rates.

Under the scheme, the average cost of the solar hot-water system will be $5000 to $6000.

Solar Industry Association spokesman Brian Cox said by limiting it to four suppliers and promoting those businesses, the council was inferring that solar businesses not part of the scheme provided poor systems or their business practices were not up to scratch.

"This can be very detrimental for suppliers which have complying systems and specification and installation practices that are best practice, but which may not have made the top four," he said.

Mr Cox said the solar water-heating industry was still developing and suppliers were generally still small businesses which did not have the money to advertise to compete with those chosen to take part.

"They are up against the council promoting those four names."

He said he was not questioning the selection process and denied that the association's reaction was just sour grapes.

"This is forcing out of business some of Nelson's good tradespeople purely on the grounds that they were number five, six or seven."

He believed the council would be better to allow every supplier that met the required standard to be part of the scheme, and let customers decide what was right for them.

Alternative Power owner Stuart Walker said businesses had warned the council about limiting the programme before it was launched.

"It's a lot like them saying only Ford motor cars are going to be sold in Nelson. It isn't the council's job to make that decision." He said it was too early to tell whether the programme had adversely affected his business, but the problem ould be easily fixed by widening the scheme to include other businesses. "As long as the system complies, it should be eligible for the council funding."

Council environmental policy manager Martin Workman said the council decided to list a limited number of suppliers so it could ensure the quality and installation of the systems.

"That's not saying that others are not providing quality systems and installations."

Limiting the number of suppliers also meant the council was able to get some good price benefits for residents, which it would not have been able to do if it had been opened to all Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) approved suppliers. The council was also trying to make it less complicated for ratepayers and a limited scheme would be easier for the council to administer.

He said the council had waived resource consent application fees for all solar hot-water systems and that should benefit other suppliers.

SolarPeak New Zealand owner Glenn Harvey, one of the four chosen suppliers, said he also sympathised with those who had missed out on the contract, but that was the nature of the tender process – not everyone could be successful.

He had put a lot of energy into his tender and said businesses knew right from the start the council would choose only a few businesses.

Mr Harvey said he had been through other government tender process before and had not been successful.

He said the council scheme was a loan scheme and that would not suit everybody.

People who did not go through the council scheme could still access a $1000 EECA subsidy.

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