Solar Citizens, Australia’s largest voice for clean energy and transport is dismayed by the absence of any commitment to clean, cheap renewable energy in the Coalition’s Budget reply tonight.
Solar Citizens CEO Heidi Lee Douglas said, “the Coalition will fail to reduce energy prices if they persist with doubling down on the two most expensive forms of energy in the world - gas and nuclear.
“It is concerning that the Opposition Leader’s budget reply contained no commitment to the most effective way to slash power bills for millions of people longer term - through support for home renewable energy, like home solar and batteries.
“True energy security for Australian households means gaining control of their energy bills instead of being forced to rely on large energy corporations.
“Reviving a temporary fuel excise discount is a gift to big multi-national companies, with limited benefit to households. The best way to save household budgets is to make it easier for households to buy Electric Vehicles that they can charge with their rooftop solar systems, and make EV charging more accessible through further public charging roll-outs.
“The average Australian spends about $5000 on petrol each year, which is a major cost for many households. With an EV powered by rooftop solar those petrol costs disappear, and annual maintenance costs also drop by around $550 per year.
Relying on imported fuel is also a national security risk in an unstable global climate, whereas running cars on sunshine is cheaper and more secure than relying on imported fuels.
Nuclear:
We continue to have grave concerns about the Coalition’s nuclear energy policy. If nuclear reactors run 24/7, homes running on solar could have their inverters switched off and be forced to buy more expensive nuclear power.
“Ten million Australians who currently benefit from cheap, clean rooftop solar have more generation capacity (24.4GW) than all our ageing coal-fired power stations across the country (22.6GW). These solar households are already slashing their power bills by an average of $1,500 per year.
“Modelling of electricity costs by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis finds nuclear power will cost more for every Australian household with increases of between $260 and $1259 per year.
“Solar and batteries are the cheaper way to secure our energy grid compared to nuclear or gas, saving both households and government significant money. It’s time for the Federal Opposition to drop their expensive plan for a new nuclear energy industry and now lurching towards more reliance on gas.
“While 40 percent of households now have reduced energy costs through rooftop solar, 60 percent of us still miss out, and many are locked out if they rent or live in apartments.
Solar Ciitzens calls on all sides of politics to invest in long term, intergenerational cheaper energy by supporting:
- Solar for Renters
- Solar for Apartments
- A federal home battery rebate
Solar for renters:
“Solar Citizens proposes that to help 30 percent of Australians who rent to reduce their power bills, the Federal government could work with the state governments to enforce Mandatory Minimum Energy Efficiency standards. The federal government could meanwhile also use tax concessions to incentivise landlords to install solar on rental properties such as instant asset depreciation.
Solar for apartments:
“For the growing number of Australians living in apartments a national program to provide subsidised energy assessments for strata associations for all sizes of apartments, access to rebates for energy upgrades and access to electric vehicle charging for apartments would reduce energy bills.
Home battery support:
“A clear gap in household energy support is the lack of a Federal rebate for home batteries.
“A significant federal rebate for home batteries would reduce the power load in the evenings that is driving up energy prices from using expensive, unstable coal power and expensive gas power. If a million solar households could soak up the power their panels generate during the day, to use at night, AEMO calculates this would be enough to firm the grid and keep prices lower for everyone.*
“We know people around Australia who have solar power overwhelmingly want batteries to provide back up storage and reduce their bills further, and share that cheap power with their neighbours. But more than 70% say they can’t afford the upfront cost of a battery without a rebate or other financial support.”
“This would be a smart way to slash energy bills now and long term, gaining much needed cost of living relief for the next twenty years for all Australians. Instead of driving us to rely on expensive gas and risky nuclear power.”
*The Australian Energy Market Operator’s modelling in the Integrated Systems Plan to achieve the lowest cost energy transition requires 8GW of household batteries by 2030. This is equivalent to one million behind-the-meter batteries.