Booming demand for solar but labour shortage ‘speed bump’
Solar energy providers say they are well-placed to meet booming demand for rooftop systems in the region.
But extra trades people were needed to help reduce current lead times of around three months, Electrify Nelson said.
Coordinator of the non-profit group Adam Burwell said interest was at an unprecedented level at Current Generation, the Nelson-based solar company he worked for – with inquiries up “a couple of hundred percent” on a year ago.
At an event hosted by Electrify Nelson last month 47% of 830 attendees said they planned to install or get quotes for solar power within six months.
Both National and Labour have announced plans for solar schemes with long-term, low interest loans to reduce the upfront costs of investing in solar.
Labour also pledged subsidies for low and middle-income households, provisions for plug-in solar panels for renters and a $30 million community battery fund for neighbourhoods.
Burwell said there were several good solar providers available in the region with a “fairly mature” supply chain.
Network Tasman had also increased resources, helping process a rise in applications for solar from about 30 a month two years ago to about 150 a month.
The lines company usually approved applications within a few days for smaller systems in residential properties, and around four to six weeks for businesses and larger residences.
Imports of materials were fairly steady, Burwell said.
But there was a shortage of electricians and installers to help meet solar growth, with demand showing no signs of dropping.
“[We] could certainly do with increasing the speed at which we’re getting these systems on.
“Any sort of speed bumps … would just be getting those qualified trades persons.”
Around 6000 more electricians were currently needed nationwide to meet demand for solar.
Lead times for installations would ideally be four weeks for smaller residential systems, and six-eight weeks for commercial systems, Burwell said.
For anyone interested in retraining, solar installation would be an area of growth for the foreseeable future, he said,
Toby Nicholls, managing director of Think Solar Nelson, said providers’ lead times had increased slightly because demand was “so high” in the last year.
That was driven by power and fuel price increases, and a surge in EV sales causing higher power bills, he said.
“Everyone got real busy very quickly.
“We’ve scaled our business up in terms of staffing and vehicle capacity.”
The challenge was maintaining quality as demand increased, he said.
In Australia, “second tier operators” had opened and installed poor quality products when demand surged during substantial rebates for batteries.
Install wait times of around three months were “not bad in the context of a system that’s going to be on your roof for 25, 30 years”.
“You really want to get it right,” Nicholls said.
He advised people to use solar companies that had in-house installation teams, rather than having solar installed by contractors.
About 83% of the company’s customers had battery solar systems, with resilience a major driver.
Battery systems provided electricity during power cuts; an increasing factor with weather disruption.
New Zealand was at the start of its solar journey with the most modern technology available, Nicholls said.
Nelson and Tasman District had been “well-ahead of the curve” for installing solar before this year’s surge in demand, with 1 in 12 homes in the Nelson region having solar, double the national average.
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