Solar Citizens welcomes the NSW Government’s new financial incentive for household batteries, under the Peak Demand Reduction Scheme (PDRS), available from Friday 1 November.
“The introduction of the new battery incentive under the Peak Demand Reduction Scheme shows that the NSW Government is taking consumer energy resources seriously, and acknowledges the important role household batteries will play in the transition away from fossil fuels and towards 100% renewable energy,” said Solar Citizens CEO Heidi Lee Douglas.
“The rollout of coordinated, behind-the-meter batteries can democratise our energy system, by saving and storing excess solar power generated on our rooftops during sunlight hours and feeding that energy back into the grid when it’s needed at night and during peak times, reducing our energy and reducing our carbon emissions,” said Ms Douglas.
From Friday, NSW households and businesses who have or are planning to install solar panels, will be able to save between $770 and $2400* off the upfront cost of a new behind-the-meter battery to store excess solar energy generated from their rooftop to use when the sun isn’t shining.
Solar batteries typically cost upwards of $10,000 with payback periods ranging between 5 and 10 years depending on the tariff and other variables.
“Rooftop solar combined with behind-the-meter battery storage ensures households have access to clean energy day and night, and can save money on their electricity bills straight away and every day for the next twenty years or more.
It’s a smart investment in taking your energy use and energy bills back into your own hands. But with the current cost of living crisis, batteries are often not an affordable option and that’s why government financial support for batteries is needed,” said Ms Douglas.
Modelling** by the Australian Energy Market Operator, AEMO, shows that equivalent to one million household batteries are needed nationally by 2030 to harness our world-leading rooftop solar uptake and stabilise the energy grid. But household batteries remain the only technology in AEMO’s roadmap without a federal government policy to drive delivery.
At a Federal level Solar Citizens calls on both the government and Opposition to extend the rebate that has made home solar a success story in Australia - the Small scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES) - to batteries, to hasten the roll out of household batteries. Solar Citizens is also calling on the major parties to adopt a target of one million batteries by 2030, with incentives on offer for both free-standing homes and apartments, whether they have rooftop solar or not.
“We need all states and territories, and the Federal Government, to provide similar financial incentives to massively increase the number of behind the meter batteries in the system and make electricity cheaper for everyone.” Ms Douglas said.
“Australia’s home solar uptake is world leading, and we need to marry this solar uptake with batteries so we can use the cheap, clean energy day and night and replace our aging coal fired power stations.”
Under the PDRS, NSW households and businesses can also claim an extra $250 to $400 for connecting their new battery to a Virtual Power Plant (VPP). A VPP is a coordinated network of solar batteries that support the electricity grid, reduce reliance on coal-fired power, and protect communities against blackouts.
The financial incentives offered under the PDRS can be combined with the Commonwealth’s Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme, providing thousands of dollars in savings to NSW residents keen to install both rooftop solar and a household battery at the same time.
The incentives offered under both the federal and the NSW schemes can be redeemed directly through accredited solar battery installers. The provider will calculate the relevant discount(s) when giving a quote for the battery and/or solar panel system to be installed, and ensure the battery is able to be connected to a VPP.
Batteries must be listed on the Clean Energy Council’s list of approved batteries, and once installed, consumers can join an accredited VPP of their choosing and claim the additional incentive.
* Discounts can vary depending on the model, size of battery system in kWh, post code and date installed. According to the NSW Government, households can save between $770 and $1150 on a new 6.5 kWh battery, and between $1600 and $2400 on a new 13.5 kWh battery.
**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.