With 110 households already signed on to have panels installed on their roofs, the teams will be ready to start work in the new year.

“We are delighted with the response from the community and the people lining up for training,” said New England Sustainability Strategy (NESS) coordinator Adam Blakester.

“Special thanks go to the Department of State and Regional Development business development manager Peter Sniekers who helped with the funding for the Iron Man Welder boys to undertake this training.

“With such strong support from Member for Northern Tablelands Richard Torbay, TAFE, the New England Credit Union, IMW, local tradespeople and sustainability groups, this truly is a comprehensive community project.

“Some of the positive spin-offs will be local employment, environmental benefits and skills training and upgrading.”

The Solar New England Project for the Armidale, Guyra, Uralla and Walcha region is the first major initiative from NESS and aims to install 400 grid connected solar systems to homeowners. It is being coordinated by AusEnergy, a national solar power specialist company with the training for installers being delivered by private training consultants who work with TAFE in NSW and Victoria. Two or three teams with accredited supervisors will take to the roofs in March.

“This is the largest solar roll out to households in a rural area,” said AusEnergy managing director Jamie Reardon.

“The demand for qualified installers has already outstripped supply and we would expect there will be lots of work for these people in the future.”

The project enables households in the region with an income below $100,000 to install solar panels for as low as $2440. The power generated will be transmitted directly to the grid and is expected to deliver initial power bill savings of up to $300 a year. The plan depends on clusters of 50 households at a time signing up to deliver economies of scale for the units and their installation.

Those who don’t qualify for the Federal Government $8000 rebate because their household income is above $100,000 can still sign up and benefit from this scheme.

With the federal rebate continuing until June interested home owners can find out more at www.ness.widkidot.com, contact Adam Blakester on 6775-2501, 0419 808-900 or adam@paradigmplay.net or Jamie Reardon 1300 785-009, 0427 085-009 or jamie@ausenergy.com.au.