Rewiring Australia welcomes home battery uptake, and calls to keep growing the battery fleet with EVs
Rewiring Australia has welcomed the uptake of almost 30,000 home batteries since the federal government’s rebates came into effect on July 1.
The organisation has hailed the 30% subsidy, set to run until 2030, as a crucial and positive step to speeding up electrification.
Rewiring Australia’s research has found installing a battery to an average home would generate about $1,000 a year in savings, when working in conjunction with rooftop solar and all-electric appliances.
“We are not surprised by this level of uptake. Australians want cheaper power bills and more energy independence, and storing it yourself is one of the best ways to gain more savings, and more control,” Rewiring Australia CEO Francis Vierboom said.
“This subsidy will allow Australian families to save money on ever-increasing bills. At the same time, it’s helping those homes use clean energy around the clock, and getting us closer to zero emissions, especially as homes upgrade to all-electric and unsubscribe from gas,” Francis Vierboom said.
Rewiring Australia said there was an even bigger opportunity for lowering household bills - the switch to electric vehicles.
“Homes with solar panels, or homes switching to cheap ‘free energy at midday plans’, can replace their petrol bills forever with clean electricity, which is an even bigger annual saving. A typical petrol car costs $2,600 a year in fuel. Charge an EV at home with solar and that drops to about $170,” Francis Vierboom said.
Home batteries are generally only enough to power a single home overnight, but EVs run on larger batteries that can power some homes for over a week.
“They don’t just replace petrol bills with free solar; electric vehicles can also become home batteries on wheels. We are already seeing people start to use their electric vehicles to function both as a home battery and a car, and sell energy back to the grid at peak times,” Francis Vierboom said.
The federal government is reportedly in talks to fast-track plans for a road-user charge for electric vehicle drivers, and there are fears the popular Fringe Benefit Tax exemption that allows thousands of Australians to access an EV through their employer is also on the chopping block.
“Talking about road user taxes right now is premature. Now is not the time to pump the brakes on EVs. They’ll slash our national petrol bill and transform our energy system, storing over five times the energy of Snowy Hydro. The faster we add them to our roads, the more energy we can use from cheap, clean renewables, helping us reduce our reliance on oil imports, and retire Australia’s costly, ageing coal fleet sooner.
“Electric vehicles have a higher upfront cost than petrol cars, but a lower operating cost and can feed power back into the home. We should be making it easier for people to drive a car that also powers their home. By supporting EV uptake, we can cut bills, store clean energy, and put fossil fuels in the rear-view mirror,” Francis Vierboom said.
Media contact: Kathleen Ferguson - 0421 522 080