In many ways the solar industry here in South Africa is well established; in many other ways it is still very young.
When I had a solar system installed at our house about 4 years ago, I still felt like a lone ranger, and the installation company was doing pioneering work.
Four years later, a huge amount has grown and a huge amount has been achieved. But much has also gone wrong, or has not been done well, often by people with insufficient knowledge or appreciation of unwanted consequences. In some ways things have become more chaotic. Think about our roads: if more and more cars on our busy roads are un-roadworthy, don’t obey the rules, drive whichever way they want, while the roads have potholes and the traffic lights don’t work. Increasingly the roads become more chaotic and more dangerous for everyone.
The same thing can happen with our national electricity grid, whose electric branches reach into every house, every building, every factory. Obeying the rules related to electrical installations – particularly when you’re going to generate electricity on your premises – and doing things correctly makes it safe and workable for everybody.
In this context, SAPVIA, the South African Photovoltaic Industry Association, developed the PVGreenCard programme, which “is a safety certification, a quality assurance standard, and training programme for solar PV installers. Quality and safety are assured via the specialized education and training provided to solar PV installers prior to them being certified and registered on the PV GreenCard database. This certification means that these installers are proficient and compliant with all of the relevant national and municipal electrical regulations.”
While full statutory regulation of the industry is still a work in progress, “SAPVIA with the associated partners has developed industry guidelines as an interim measure to ensure best practices are followed in Solar PV rooftop installations”.
Solid Light Solar Services subscribes to these best practices. Which is why I attach great importance to my PVGreenCard certification.
