Source : THE AGE NEWS
Australia is approaching an unprecedented boom in household battery uptake as installers report a post-election surge of home owners eager to seize new federal government rebates that will slash thousands of dollars off the upfront cost.
In the run-up to the May 3 election, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledged to set aside $2.3 billion to cover around 30 per cent of the purchase and installation cost for anyone buying a household battery system that can stash power generated from their rooftop solar panels.
Australia has among the highest per-capita uptake of rooftop solar panels in the world.Credit: Bloomberg
Electricity giant Origin Energy, which owns Australian quote-comparison service SolarQuotes, said enquiries about purchasing home batteries had rocketed since Labor’s re-election locked in the subsidy program, which kicks in from July 1 and will not be limited by the purchaser’s income.
“In the month to date, Origin and SolarQuotes saw a remarkable 250 per cent increase in home battery enquiries,” Origin executive general manager of retail Jon Briskin said.
Australia is a world leader in per-person solar uptake, with more than 4 million homes – or one in three – now fitted with rooftop solar panels.
However, just one in 40 also has a battery, which has led to a significant problem: all those solar panels are making far too much electricity in the middle of the day when the sun is brightest, and hardly any when people return home, turn on their lights and fire up appliances.
SolarGain, a major solar and battery storage provider with 23 stores nationally, confirmed that enquiries about home batteries had doubled across its network. Enquiry volumes at specific outlets were up to 400 per cent higher than previous levels, it said.
Home-owners were eager to produce and use their own electricity as much as possible as a way to lessen their reliance on the grid, and cut their exposure to higher prices and network outages, SolarGain Victorian business development manager Will Haydon said.
“People want to separate from the grid,” he said. “Now they have an opportunity to store their excess power with a much quicker return on their investment.”
The government’s hefty discounts, which could slash thousands of dollars off the upfront cost of some battery models, were empowering people to make the leap and purchase a device that may have previously been unaffordable, Haydon added.
While some household batteries on the market, such as the Tesla Powerwall 3, can retail for more than $18,000, many other batteries are cheaper, meaning the promise of a 30 per cent discount could go further in bridging the affordability gap.
There are 77 solar batteries on the Australian market at present, starting at about $4000 for a five-kilowatt-hour battery, according to data compiled by the Smart Energy Council, an industry group. At least nine larger 10-kilowatt systems range from $6000 to $10,000.
Government and industry calculations suggest households with solar panels could save up to $1100 a year on power bills by adding a battery, while savings could come to $2300 for those installing solar and a battery at once. Uptake of solar-battery systems would also benefit consumers more broadly by easing strain on the electricity system in the evenings and keeping a lid on spiking prices, Smart Energy Council chief executive John Grimes said.
“It’s important to understand that this policy will help reduce the power bills of everyone, not just those who can get solar and a battery,” Grimes said.
“Less demand on the energy grid means fewer price peaks, a win-win for all.”
Bryn Foletta, who operates seven SolarGain outlets in Victoria and Queensland, said he believed the prospect of a national home battery boom would benefit consumers and reshape the electricity grid for the better.
“As we enter the electrification era, we need to capture as much power as we can from the sun so it can be used at night,” he said.
However, there remained challenges that some installers in the sector believe must be addressed before the program’s fast-approaching start date of July 1, Foletta added. The flood of daytime solar exports to the grid from households without batteries has forced authorities and electricity distributors to introduce emergency measures and charges to switch off rooftop systems to prevent dangerous spikes in voltage levels and keep the grid stable.
In Victoria, the so-called “emergency backstop” mechanism, designed to manage solar exports, was having unintended consequences, Foletta said, by driving significant delays to new connections due to the need for additional testing.
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