Australia is on the cusp of a home battery boom
In the run-up to the May 3 election, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledged to set aside $2.3 billion to cover around 30 per cent of the purchase and installation cost for anyone buying a household battery system that can stash power generated from their rooftop solar panels.
Electricity giant Origin Energy, which owns Australian quote-comparison service SolarQuotes, said enquiries about purchasing home batteries had rocketed since Labor's re-election locked in the subsidy program, which kicks in from July 1 and will not be limited by the purchaser's income.
'In the month to date, Origin and SolarQuotes saw a remarkable 250 per cent increase in home battery enquiries,' Origin executive general manager of retail Jon Briskin said.
Australia is a world leader in per-person solar uptake, with more than 4 million homes – or one in three – now fitted with rooftop solar panels.
However, just one in 40 also has a battery, which has led to a significant problem: all those solar panels are making far too much electricity in the middle of the day when the sun is brightest, and hardly any when people return home, turn on their lights and fire up appliances.
SolarGain, a major solar and battery storage provider with 23 stores nationally, confirmed that enquiries about home batteries had doubled across its network. Enquiry volumes at specific outlets were up to 400 per cent higher than previous levels, it said.
Home-owners were eager to produce and use their own electricity as much as possible as a way to lessen their reliance on the grid, and cut their exposure to higher prices and network outages, SolarGain Victorian business development manager Will Haydon said.
'People want to separate from the grid,' he said. 'Now they have an opportunity to store their excess power with a much quicker return on their investment.'
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