Western Australia adds new requirements for new Solar Installations

Published On: February 14th, 2022|2 min read|
Two men with arms around each other smiling at the camera whilst stood in front of a home with solar panels on the roof.

This year, February 14th is not just Valentine’s Day in Western Australia, but an important day for solar installers and customers. New requirements for emergency solar management come into effect for both new and upgraded rooftop solar installations.

Under a recommendation from the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), these new requirements are being introduced and mandated to help prevent widespread loss of power in state-wide emergency situations. This emergency solar management will be the last resort before entire suburbs with high volumes of solar exports lose power.

From today, all new and upgraded solar PV and battery installations with an inverter capacity of 5kW or less will need to be capable of being remotely turned down or switched off in emergency situations.

All Redback products are 100% compliant with these new Western Australian standards.

Some important facts to know:

1. These new requirements only apply to new and upgraded rooftop solar

Existing solar systems will be unaffected, new requirements only apply if you decide to upgrade your system, i.e. increase array or add a Smart Battery to an existing system.

2. The new requirements will only be used in emergencies

Remotely turning down or switching off solar inverters is expected to be needed infrequently and only for short periods of time – preventing loss of power for thousands of Western Australians during these critical times.

For comparison, South Australia introduced similar capabilities in 2020 and since then households have been affected for about one hour in total.

3. Power received from the grid is unaffected

These new requirements affect only rooftop solar generation, which may get reduced or temporarily turned off. It’s important to know that homes will continue to receive power from the grid and will not completely lose power.

4. Household impact is the final resort

Turning off or heavily reducing household solar power production will only be used as a last resort for energy providers. Other options to protect the power system, such as turning down large-scale generators, will be done first.

5. The new requirements allow more renewables overall

By managing risks during these infrequent emergency times, greater levels of rooftop solar installation will be possible.

It’s of interest to note that these new requirements are just one of Western Australia’s efforts to reduce the need for emergency measures. Additional tasks as part of a long-term plan are also underway, including investment in storage, improving pricing signals, and allowing for customer devices to provide energy services for payment. You can find out more about WA’s Energy Transformation Strategy here.

Want more information? The Western Australian government have created a fantastic fact sheet designed for Solar Customers which can be found here.