Calls for a scheme to make battery storage systems more affordable

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Rising power bills and reduced solar feed-in tariffs are helping to fuel a boom in home battery sales. However, battery installations are still way behind rooftop solar prompting calls for a national subsidy scheme.

Transcript

00:00Rooftop solar is a common sight in Australia's suburbs.

00:06Now rising power bills and cuts to solar feed-in tariffs are fueling a batteries boom.

00:13So in some instances houses are getting one or two cents, even in some scenarios they're

00:17paying for power to export that to the grid.

00:19Kevin Nguyen used to get 15 cents for every kilowatt hour he exported to the grid.

00:25Now he gets three cents.

00:27That's the main reason I decided to install the battery.

00:32Four million households and businesses have rooftop solar, but only about 1 in 12 or 320,000

00:39have a battery.

00:4075,000 units were installed in 2024, that's a 47% increase on the previous year.

00:49The purchase price is still a big barrier, with a battery system costing on average about

00:54$10,000.

00:56While there are no interest loans available, only the New South Wales and Northern Territory

01:01Governments offer subsidies.

01:04That's prompted calls for the Federal Government to fund a national scheme to dramatically

01:10reduce the cost of batteries for consumers.

01:13There's a saving not just for the householder, but for the whole community.

01:17That's because we're taking pressure off when electricity prices are high.

01:22This former Deputy RBA Governor is calling for an end to Band-Aid solutions like energy

01:28bill relief payments.

01:30You could repurpose that money to provide them with the opportunity to get rooftop solar,

01:36batteries to provide much more long-lasting insulation from energy prices.

01:42Disconnecting homes from a volatile energy market.

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