Solar Readiness for Strata - Section 10 - Approvals
The approvals which are required for solar systems on strata rooftops are different, depending on which of the 4 solar models needs an approval, which state of Australia the approval is needed in, who the local grid provider is, the size of the solar system, the total value of the solar system installation job and who the electricity meters are owned by.
Solar approvals are where the motivations, opportunities and abilities of the Owners Corporation align to result in a solar project, as described in the diagram below from researchers at Wollongong University.
Solar approvals are where the motivations, opportunities and abilities of the Owners Corporation align to result in a solar project, as described in the diagram below from researchers at Wollongong University.
Strata Scheme Approvals Required by State
For example, Western Australia has enacted legislative changes which make it easier to put solar panels on a strata rooftop. Western Australia was the first state to lower the strata approval threshold from a special resolution to an ordinary resolution. The NSW parliament passed the Sustainability Infrastructure Amendment to the NSW Strata Schemes Management Act to also reduce the threshold from a special resolution to a sustainability infrastructure resolution (like an ordinary resolution). You may want to watch a video on the NSW Sustainability amendment.
The solar models are in this video:
1) Common area solar. Requires an sustainability infrastructure, ordinary or special resolution of Owners depending on the state. A sample set of motions for a common area solar installation in NSW is here.
2) Individual solar systems for individual apartments. Read the Solar Education Kit for Individual Apartments or Townhouses in strata here which has examples of by-laws in favour of individual lot owners for installing solar systems on a common property rooftop. Another example of a generic exclusive use by-law is here.
3) Solar Sharing Gateway for individual apartments. Requires special use by-laws in favour of the participating lots (if only a subset of lots are participating) as well as a sustainability infrastructure resolution or special resolution of owners depending on the state. A sample set of motions and a by-law is here. If a subset of lot-owners within a strata scheme are to buy a solar sharing gateway on a pro-rata basis, then one option is for the subset of owners to have user-pays by-laws. Another option is for the lot owners to enter into a tenancy-in-common agreement with each other, to govern the ownership and maintenance of the solar sharing system. A sample tenancy-in-common agreement is here. You may want to watch a video on Allume Energy.
4) Embedded Electrical Network solar. Requires a special resolution.
Another approach which has been used in NSW under the Sustainability Infrastructure Motion is for the Owners Corporation to vote via this motion at an AGM to finance the solar system and assign the responsibility to the strata committee to move forward.
For example, Western Australia has enacted legislative changes which make it easier to put solar panels on a strata rooftop. Western Australia was the first state to lower the strata approval threshold from a special resolution to an ordinary resolution. The NSW parliament passed the Sustainability Infrastructure Amendment to the NSW Strata Schemes Management Act to also reduce the threshold from a special resolution to a sustainability infrastructure resolution (like an ordinary resolution). You may want to watch a video on the NSW Sustainability amendment.
The solar models are in this video:
1) Common area solar. Requires an sustainability infrastructure, ordinary or special resolution of Owners depending on the state. A sample set of motions for a common area solar installation in NSW is here.
2) Individual solar systems for individual apartments. Read the Solar Education Kit for Individual Apartments or Townhouses in strata here which has examples of by-laws in favour of individual lot owners for installing solar systems on a common property rooftop. Another example of a generic exclusive use by-law is here.
3) Solar Sharing Gateway for individual apartments. Requires special use by-laws in favour of the participating lots (if only a subset of lots are participating) as well as a sustainability infrastructure resolution or special resolution of owners depending on the state. A sample set of motions and a by-law is here. If a subset of lot-owners within a strata scheme are to buy a solar sharing gateway on a pro-rata basis, then one option is for the subset of owners to have user-pays by-laws. Another option is for the lot owners to enter into a tenancy-in-common agreement with each other, to govern the ownership and maintenance of the solar sharing system. A sample tenancy-in-common agreement is here. You may want to watch a video on Allume Energy.
4) Embedded Electrical Network solar. Requires a special resolution.
Another approach which has been used in NSW under the Sustainability Infrastructure Motion is for the Owners Corporation to vote via this motion at an AGM to finance the solar system and assign the responsibility to the strata committee to move forward.
Stratum Legal have created this set of flowcharts specifically for the approval process in the state of Queensland. You may also want to watch a video on the strata committee archetypes which can help a solar project.
Local Council Approvals
Prior to 2020, any solar system which was larger than 10kW usually needed a Development Application (DA) with the local council. This has now been lifted so that local council approval is needed in fewer situations for installing solar and a number of local councils have implemented "fast track" approvals for solar systems without a Development Application. If your building is heritage listed or in a heritage listed area you should contact your local council to see if there is an Exempt Development application process for solar system installation which you can qualify for, without having to lodge a Development application. Also, there are limitations on where the solar panels can be installed on heritage buildings. For example, even if the best solar irradiation on the roof is facing the street, you may not be allowed to have the solar panels installed facing the street on a heritage building where it is viewable by people passing by. While it is unusual for a strata scheme to look at installing a solar system larger than 100kW, this is another situation where you may have to get approval from your local council. Finally, if your strata scheme or an individual lot owner has a current or expired development application to turn part of the common area roof into a recreational area, then you may have to apply to the council for a Development Application to install solar panels in this location, which had previously been earmarked for recreation purposes.
Australian Energy Regulator (AER)
The Australian Energy Regulator needs to approve all solar systems which are over 100kW as solar systems of this size are considered to be "powerplants".
Embedded Network Approval
Where you have an existing embedded network, you may require approval of the Embedded Network Manager (ENM) or energy retailer, where this party maintains ownership of the electricity meters in your strata building under a multi-year contract. If your strata scheme has an individual exemption with the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) to manage its embedded network and owns it own parent meter/common area meter, then an approval of the ENM or energy retailer may not be necessary.
Insurance Cover for Solar Installer
Any solar installation on a strata rooftop which costs more than $5,000 will require a signed contract. Furthermore, in states such as NSW where there is a Home Building Insurance scheme, ANY works in the building which are over $20,000 will require the solar installer to take out insurance under this scheme.
Australian Tax Office (ATO)
The tax office treats Owners Corporations as businesses (except in South Australia, Tasmania and Northern territory). Income received by the Owners Corporation from the export of solar energy could be viewed as ‘assessable income’, meaning that it should be divided amongst the individual owners and declared on each individual’s tax return. However, there is a private tax ruling on this topic here where declaring the feed-in revenue on the owner's personal tax return was not required.
Distribution Network Service Provider (DNSP)
Your DNSP or grid provider will need to provide approval for EVERY solar system which is installed. This is usually handled by your solar installer as part of their service. Your grid provider will need to approve each model/brand of solar sharing gateway or power distribution control system (PDCS) one time, before it can be installed in all locations throughout their grid area.
Local Council Approvals
Prior to 2020, any solar system which was larger than 10kW usually needed a Development Application (DA) with the local council. This has now been lifted so that local council approval is needed in fewer situations for installing solar and a number of local councils have implemented "fast track" approvals for solar systems without a Development Application. If your building is heritage listed or in a heritage listed area you should contact your local council to see if there is an Exempt Development application process for solar system installation which you can qualify for, without having to lodge a Development application. Also, there are limitations on where the solar panels can be installed on heritage buildings. For example, even if the best solar irradiation on the roof is facing the street, you may not be allowed to have the solar panels installed facing the street on a heritage building where it is viewable by people passing by. While it is unusual for a strata scheme to look at installing a solar system larger than 100kW, this is another situation where you may have to get approval from your local council. Finally, if your strata scheme or an individual lot owner has a current or expired development application to turn part of the common area roof into a recreational area, then you may have to apply to the council for a Development Application to install solar panels in this location, which had previously been earmarked for recreation purposes.
Australian Energy Regulator (AER)
The Australian Energy Regulator needs to approve all solar systems which are over 100kW as solar systems of this size are considered to be "powerplants".
Embedded Network Approval
Where you have an existing embedded network, you may require approval of the Embedded Network Manager (ENM) or energy retailer, where this party maintains ownership of the electricity meters in your strata building under a multi-year contract. If your strata scheme has an individual exemption with the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) to manage its embedded network and owns it own parent meter/common area meter, then an approval of the ENM or energy retailer may not be necessary.
Insurance Cover for Solar Installer
Any solar installation on a strata rooftop which costs more than $5,000 will require a signed contract. Furthermore, in states such as NSW where there is a Home Building Insurance scheme, ANY works in the building which are over $20,000 will require the solar installer to take out insurance under this scheme.
Australian Tax Office (ATO)
The tax office treats Owners Corporations as businesses (except in South Australia, Tasmania and Northern territory). Income received by the Owners Corporation from the export of solar energy could be viewed as ‘assessable income’, meaning that it should be divided amongst the individual owners and declared on each individual’s tax return. However, there is a private tax ruling on this topic here where declaring the feed-in revenue on the owner's personal tax return was not required.
Distribution Network Service Provider (DNSP)
Your DNSP or grid provider will need to provide approval for EVERY solar system which is installed. This is usually handled by your solar installer as part of their service. Your grid provider will need to approve each model/brand of solar sharing gateway or power distribution control system (PDCS) one time, before it can be installed in all locations throughout their grid area.
Congratulations. You have finished Wattblock's Solar Readiness for Strata training. You may now want to take the quiz and test yourself out.
If you want to go into further detail, you may want to read our Solar on Strata whitepaper or read a Solar on Strata Masterclass or watch over 20 videos about solar for strata buildings on our youtube solar playlist here.
If you are an Owner or Strata Committee member who is interested in becoming a solar champion for your apartment building, we can assist. We have assisted strata committee members with 1 hour zoom webinars to help build the case for solar, solar feasibility studies with estimated costs and payback for different solar and battery options and solar tenders where we compare solar quotations from different solar installers on an "apples for apples" basis. Contact Brent Clark on [email protected] for further information.
If you are a council sustainability team member or a strata manager, you may want to book Wattblock for a Solar for Apartment Building training/information session. We have done these for North Sydney Council, City of Ryde, Mosman Council, Lane Cove Council, Woollahra Council, Randwick Council, Waverley Council for residents of their LGA's and for strata management companies such as Strata+, BCS, Wellman Strata and Strata Republic to train strata managers.
If you want to go into further detail, you may want to read our Solar on Strata whitepaper or read a Solar on Strata Masterclass or watch over 20 videos about solar for strata buildings on our youtube solar playlist here.
If you are an Owner or Strata Committee member who is interested in becoming a solar champion for your apartment building, we can assist. We have assisted strata committee members with 1 hour zoom webinars to help build the case for solar, solar feasibility studies with estimated costs and payback for different solar and battery options and solar tenders where we compare solar quotations from different solar installers on an "apples for apples" basis. Contact Brent Clark on [email protected] for further information.
If you are a council sustainability team member or a strata manager, you may want to book Wattblock for a Solar for Apartment Building training/information session. We have done these for North Sydney Council, City of Ryde, Mosman Council, Lane Cove Council, Woollahra Council, Randwick Council, Waverley Council for residents of their LGA's and for strata management companies such as Strata+, BCS, Wellman Strata and Strata Republic to train strata managers.
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Solar on Strata Whitepaper
Finished the training course but want to go deeper? Try this 25 page whitepaper on Solar on Strata. Download Whitepaper |
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Solar for Strata Presentation
A presentation for Zero Emissions Noosa and Noosa Council on Solar for Strata, February 2020. Download presentation |