Electrify 2515 coordinator Kristen McDonald shares an update.
Australians are fortunate to have access to the world’s cheapest delivered energy – our rooftop solar. From the local to the national level, developments are continually taking place. Let's look at a few:
Local solar news
Solar Rollout – Nearly a year ago local volunteer community group, Electrify 2515, launched a solar rollout program in an attempt to boost the amount of rooftop solar in our community. The group vetted and partnered with two local solar providers and supported households as they navigated their solar decisions. Over that period there have been 89 new solar systems in our community (75 installed, 14 scheduled), which is around 760kW of new solar capacity generating from local rooftops! A fantastic result. Can you help the community get to 100 new solar installations? It’s open to everyone in the Illawarra.
State solar news
Solar tariffs – Recently the Australian Energy Regulator introduced a new pricing structure for electricity distributors. Our distributor Endeavour Energy will introduce the following changes, which may be passed on by your energy retailer:
- Existing customers can opt in from 1 July 2024. From 1 July 2025, new customers will be on these tariffs. From 2029, everyone will be.
- Between 10am-2pm, 2kW of solar can be exported to the grid for free. Anything beyond that will incur a charge.
- Between 4pm-8pm solar exported to the grid will be rewarded. This effectively is for those with batteries.
While our energy market needs to undergo reforms including price signals to reflect our changing energy landscape, these changes risk slowing our uptake of solar energy at a time when we need it to go faster. If the goal is to have more solar used when it’s produced, a better designed tariff would make electricity really cheap during the daytime. This would provide an incentive to all consumers, especially those who don’t or can’t have solar, to benefit from cheap clean energy. But does this mean solar is no longer a good investment? No! Even with these new tariffs, you’ll still come out ahead with solar and even faster if you can use as much energy in the daytime as possible (think timers on your hot water, appliances and EV charging).
Home battery rebates – Storing solar to use at night is a game changer for untethering ourselves from fossil fuels. The NSW Government is finally recognising this and from 1 November is offering rebates of $1600 - $2400 for home batteries. While those rebates should come in sooner and be a higher amount, it is a positive step in the right direction.
National solar news
More records – Just a few years ago, many underestimated solar’s key role in our national energy landscape yet it continues to rocket and In May, a record-breaking 292MW of new capacity was added across Australia. Around 11% of Australia’s electricity supply now comes from our household rooftops, with 1 in 3 homes tapping into this energy revolution and installing an average solar system of 9.8kW. Solar really is a remarkable success story and the driver of our efficient electric future.
Join and share the community solar rollout: electrify2515.org/solar
Read more in the latest article in the Flame's 'Common Ground' series, Rooftop solar is the people's revolution