S3E19 - Matt Wilson | Central Spark Victoria

Season 3, Episode 19 · Released 3 September 2026 · 1 hr 57 min

This week we’ve headed north to Castlemaine to sit down with Matt Wilson from Central Spark Victoria — and apparently Lauren thought activewear and shorts were appropriate for a chilly Central Victorian morning.

Matt’s been around solar since the days of tiny BP panels, $8,000 rebates, Sharp 167s and smashing out two installs a day. We go right back through his apprenticeship on a questionable $7.60 an hour, the early days of commercial solar at Enviro Group, managing projects he probably wasn’t old enough to be managing, and eventually setting up Central Spark Victoria.

There’s a big chat about off-grid too — why Matt reckons you can’t do it half-arsed, why he still backs transformer-based gear, what happens when an off-grid system dies on a Saturday, and why selling someone a system also means signing yourself up to look after the bloody thing.

We also get into apprentices, subbies, inspectors getting fined for inspections they allegedly didn’t attend, paperwork, backstop, Solar Victoria, the upcoming Victorian election and why being a good Sparky these days involves a hell of a lot more than knowing how to connect wires.

Plus, a truck in a septic tank, dodgy apprentice wages, Castlemaine history, Pat finding out he has another half-sister two days before recording, and the most important apprentice rule of all: never get off the roof empty-handed.

A cracking chat with someone who’s seen the industry grow from six-panel systems to what it is today — and still genuinely loves the shit out of it.