A range of products qualify for sale of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) including both domestic and commercial systems. In order to receive RECs for solar water heaters and heat pumps, units first need to be registered with the Office of Renewable Energy Regulator (ORER).
 
ORER is open to receive applications for a period of 3 - 4 weeks in a cyclic process, usually every six months. During this time anyone with a complying solar water heater / heat pump to AS/NZS 2712 can apply for Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) registration by posting an application to ORER (note that ORER has recently changed its policy and no longer accepts electronic applications). Refer to http://orer.gov.au/manufacturers/index.html.
 
To qualify for RECs, ORER requires applications to include documentation ascertaining compliance to AS/NZS 2712 as well as results from TRNSYS modelling. TRNSYS is a computer simulation program used to model the system components including the solar collector, tank, controller and pump to determine the annual energy savings and government RECs rebates.
 
Once the 3 - 4 week registration period closes, applications are assessed & reviewed by ORER. This process generally takes 6 months. Once completed, ORER then responds to the applicants for registration informing them of the outcome of the review. Following this the register is updated. Registration is then re-opened for a period of 3 - 4 weeks for the next round of applications.
 
Vipac anticipates that the next RECs registration period for ORER will open late August 2010. We will update our website as more information becomes available.
 
The timeframe for testing a solar water heater can vary depending on the requirements. Typically the time frame required is 9 weeks to complete a full scope of testing and a further 2 weeks to issue a compliance report. Furthermore, any issues that arise can lead to delays, so we recommend that our clients plan to test well in advance. Due to the high demand just prior to an ORER cut-off, we recommend that testing be booked as early as possible.

Further information is available on the ORER website: www.orer.gov.au.