Mr Schmidt was one of thousands of NSW residents to have signed up for the scheme since it began at the start of this year.

The tarrif plan promised residents 60 for every kilowatt of energy they fed back into the power grid from their solar energy systems, allowing a $3000 system to pay for itself in three to four years.

Mr Schmidt was an early-adopter, signing up to have a system installed by Origin Energy in mid-January.

But a rush of homeowners applying to be part of the scheme caused a bottleneck that has slowed supply.

And the longer Mr Schmidt waited for his system the more he began to be concerned about missing out on his place in what he thought was a 50-megawatt cap on the plan.

Baulkham Hills MP Wayne Merton raised the matter in parliament last week on behalf of Mr Schmidt and others.

A spokeswoman for Energy Minister John Robertson said there was no cap on the scheme.

``Under the legislation, a review will be triggered when the total input reaches 50 megawatts, but any recommendations which may come out of that review will not affect anyone who has already applied.''