{"id":699027,"date":"2023-06-27T09:11:58","date_gmt":"2023-06-27T07:11:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=699027"},"modified":"2023-06-27T09:22:00","modified_gmt":"2023-06-27T07:22:00","slug":"warning-for-south-africans-looking-to-install-solar-or-inverters-to-escape-load-shedding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/energy\/699027\/warning-for-south-africans-looking-to-install-solar-or-inverters-to-escape-load-shedding\/","title":{"rendered":"Warning for South Africans looking to install solar or inverters to escape load shedding"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As demand for solar skyrockets in South Africa to avoid load shedding, the Electrical Contractors Association (ECA) has warned households and businesses to scrutinise the qualifications of solar system installers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solar now dominates the embedded generation market in South Africa, especially since the government lifted the threshold for private energy generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Nersa, solar accounts for over 78% of all registered projects, with the highest concentration in the Northern Cape, Free State and the North West.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Investment into solar has shot up. Nedbank noted it had financed over R1.2 billion of private power generation <\/strong>for businesses, small businesses and private residences and had arranged 42 transactions in the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) to the value of R26 billion<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This boom in demand for backup solutions to escape load shedding has meant that the need for electricians has also rocketed in South Africa, as the profession has a positive relation with solar installations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to several experts, solar power installations at homes and commercial properties have risen sharply in the past six months as load shedding worsened, and installers are experiencing something of a gold rush. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frank Spencer, a spokesperson for the South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (Sapvia), estimates that the number of installations has quadrupled in some places, with high demand noted in Cape Town, Gauteng, and Kwa-Zulu Natal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This spike in demand is attracting a flood of solar system installation professionals in South Africa. While some are genuine, others are unqualified \u201ccowboys\u201d trying to benefit from the craze, the association said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Considering this, Sapvia implemented a PV GreenCard to filter out “rogue” installers and ensure that electricians were operating in compliance with industry and international best practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe procedure is simple: Sapvia gives out guidelines for assessments where installers undergo a theoretical and practical test which they must pass to be included in the list of certified installers in the PV GreenCard database,\u201d said the association. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This GreenCard is fast becoming accepted in the solar industry, with many commercial and private customers requiring such for installations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, despite the programme\u2019s good intentions, the national director of the ECA<\/a>, Mark Mfikoe, said the industry-backed GreenCard is a “fictitious” proof of qualifications and credibility. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Director of the ECA, Mark Mfikoe.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Speaking to SABC News<\/a>, he said that customers must scrutinise the qualifications of solar installers beyond the GreenCard, as it is not formally recognised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t install solar systems without a certified electrical contractor. This requires registration with the Department of Labour as an electrical contractor,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that the minimum qualification needed to install solar is to be an installation electrician or a master installation electrician. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis GreenCard is fiction. It is not an accredited qualification with no formal recognition,\u201d said Mfikoe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response, a spokesperson for the Sapvia, De Wet Taljaard, said that the PV GreenCard should not be seen as a qualification but rather as proof that the installer is a registered electrician that is qualified to do the work properly and can provide a Certificate of Compliance (COC).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regardless of the ongoing debate, solar consumers are warned to double-check solar installers\u2019 qualifications beyond the PV GreenCard to ensure quality and accredited service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Read: How too much solar could \u2018collapse the grid\u2019<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Electrical Contractors Association (ECA) has warned households to double-check the qualifications of their installers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":699167,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9874],"tags":[9116,17096,18173],"class_list":["post-699027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-energy","tag-eca","tag-sabc-news","tag-sapvia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/699027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=699027"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/699027\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":699211,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/699027\/revisions\/699211"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/699167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=699027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=699027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=699027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}