Ferrier Hodgson were appointed as receivers and will manage Solar Shop Australia while it is on receivership. Solar Shop was set up 12 years back, currently employs 200 people and has operations across mainland Australia.
Ferrier Hodgson and Solar Shop managers are continuing to trade business while attempting to find a purchaser for the business on a going concern business.
Solar Shop is still taking orders and any deposits will be kept in trust by the receivers. The company reportedly has one-fifth of Australia’s residential solar market.
This move comes against the backdrop of the ongoing Clean Energy debate and has unsettled the country’s solar energy industry. The recent changes to the feed-in tariff rates in New South Wales and Victoria have contributed to Solar Shop’s woes.
John Grimes, chief executive Australian Solar Energy Society, has been campaigning for the government to come up with a fair price for solar.
“We aren’t asking for handouts, special treatment or extra money. If there is no solar policy, people with solar systems can’t do anything with their excess power except give it to the utilities for an unfair price. The utilities then sell it to non-solar households at an inflated rate," says Grimes.