Adelaide solar firm Love Energy goes into administration Love Energy owner and director Richard Mintz said the company would "do the right thing" for everyone. Picture: NIGEL PARSONS Source: adelaidenow A THIRD major Adelaide solar retailer has collapsed, claiming that cheap imports and "kneejerk" Government policy led to its failure. Hindmarsh-based Love Energy has been described as one of the industry's better performers but last week sold its outstanding order book to an unnamed company to ensure the deposits of all 20 installations and all warranties will be honoured. Its 15 staff were last week told not to come in after Easter and callers to the company's 1300 number were yesterday informed by a recorded message the company was experiencing "technical difficulties" and would return calls at a later date. Owner and director Richard Mintz confirmed he was putting the company into administration, saying the industry had been stung by constant regulatory changes - including a steady drop in feed-in tariffs that made the investment attractive - and reliance on cheap Chinese panels. TELL US: Have you been left out of pocket by collapsing solar companies? "The environment for residential solar has become too toxic," he said. It is an incredibly unstable policy area; there have been 16 changes in government policy in the last two years. I'm not saying the level of subsidy needed to be managed, but it was knee-jerk, knee-jerk, knee-jerk. And a good number of people who advertise ... are using very, very cheap components - cheap panels, cheap inverters. Quality can't compete with that. The cheaper panels had also driven a price dive, cut revenue from about $7500 per kW in 2010 to the current level of $2500/kW. Mr Mintz would not disclose how much was owed by the company, or how much he had lost. "We haven't waited until the 11th hour (to close the business) and I think I have been reasonably proactive, making sure we are doing the right thing for everyone," he said. It has been financially difficult for me but I am not going anywhere. The collapse follows the recent collapse of two other national solar retailers founded in Adelaide. Solar Shop collapsed in September 2011, owing $22.5 million to unsecured creditors. Last month, Unleash Solar went into administration owing more than $6 million to suppliers and sporting teams, including $220,000 to Adelaide United.