NSW Labor commits to train 4,500 skilled solar electricians

The New South Wales (NSW) Labor Party is pushing its PV policies as both measures to reduce power bills, but to create jobs. It announced a plan today to allocate $11 million towards training some 4,500 solar electricians in order to safely deliver its  $180,000 Solar Home Policy. The announcement was made at the Electrical Trades Union conference in Wollongong today. 

The jobs boost is a direct result of the Labor election pledge to introduce $2,200 rebates for half a million households for rooftop PV systems. The solar energy plan is set to deliver pricing for cheaper renewable electricity for more than three million NSW homes in the next decade, and save households with a combined income below $180,000 between $600 and $1,000 on electricity bills.

To execute the program, NSW Labor will make sure there sufficient numbers of skilled solar electricians. The majority of jobs are expected to be in regional NSW, which has been hit hard by high unemployment under the Liberal and National state government, the party said in a statement.

With the goal to train and accredit a new generation of electricians and installers, Labor’s Solar Skills program will be properly accredited and monitored to ensure the highest safety standards are in place.

NSW Labor Leader, Michael Daley, has announced that the $11 million fund will be used to train 4,500 electricians needed to install and maintain thousands of solar panels and batteries on rooftops over the coming decade.

“Labor’s investment in renewable energy is going to boost regional economies, starting with jobs,“ Daley said in his address to to the Electrical Trades Union conference in Wollongong this week.

“Our commitment to renewable energy will deliver a windfall to regional NSW – homes will have access to cheaper, cleaner power and businesses investing in solar will be able to invest with certainty in NSW.”

Hailed as “the biggest rollout of renewable energy in Australia’s history”, the NSW Labor Party has come up with a policy to add 7 GW of renewable energy generation, which is expected to create 13,485 jobs. The party plans to use reverse auctions to deliver 6 GW of renewable energy backed by storage, and establish a state-owned corporation to deliver a further 1 GW of renewables and storage.

When added to the previously announced Solar Homes policy, Labor is calculated to deliver a combined total of 9 GW of new renewable energy capacity and a 14% reduction in NSW carbon emissions by 2030.