Why should WA homeowners be entitled to a Home Battery rebate?
Battery Storage rebate schemes are taking off all around Australia, but not so much in the Home battery Perth market. An average household could cut its power bill by up to 80% with a WA state government battery subsidy on Lithium home battery storage. This is a conclusion that the Smart Energy Council (SEC), based on Labor’s $2,000 rebate and the current offerings by solar battery retailers in Australia.
There are many reasons why a WA state government battery rebate makes sense, but before we look at these reasons in more detail let’s look around Australia and around the world to see what our fellow state governments are doing with battery rebate schemes for homeowners. Many Perth residents are thinking “How do I get the WA battery rebate?” and if it was available “What is the WA home battery rebate worth”? It’s interesting that three Australian states and one territory are offering a battery rebate on Lithium home battery systems, but the WA state government battery subsidy has not yet been passed. We can now see that the gradual drop in prices and technical evolution of Lithium home battery associated technology is changing the way people think about solar power.
The ACT Government have taken action to protect their states grid, unlike the non-existent WA battery rebate:
- To give you an example of activity in other states, the ACT Government has announced a fourth (you read correctly – fourth!!) round of funding for the Home Battery Rebate also known as the Government’s Next Generation Energy Storage program. The funding will continue to support the roll-out of around 36 megawatts (MW) of energy storage to a maximum of 5,000 Canberra homes, businesses and properties.
Victorian Solar Home Battery rebate program from July 1, 2019, will be extended to offer the following:
- interest-free loans for solar power systems, repayable over 4 years
- a new battery rebate for Lithium home battery systems worth up to $4,839 AUD
- solar panels rebate for renters (at long last – renters are finally not being left out!) worth up to $2,225 AUD
In South Australia a home battery rebate of up to $6,000 off the cost of a battery storage system PLUS low-interest finance is available
- Unlike the non-existent WA battery rebate, South Australia’s Home battery rebate scheme has meant lower power costs for the 40,000 households who have purchased a solar Lithium home battery system. In addition, the installation of these systems will reduce demand on the network (especially during peak periods) and in turn, lower power prices for all South Australians.
In Queensland interest-free loans and home battery rebate schemes are available
Households and small businesses can apply for interest-free loans or grants to purchase a solar Lithium home battery. Battery rebate assistance packages are available offering interest-free loans of up to $6,000 AUD (with repayment terms within 10 years) and grants of $3,000 AUD.
$3,650 AUD battery rebate assistance packages are available across both the loans and grants for Lithium home batteries and the loans and grants for combined solar and Lithium home battery systems. These will be approved across the 2 assistance programs on a first-come, first-served basis.
A waitlist will be in place for home battery rebate applications received above $3,650 AUD, with a total of 4,000 applications to be received. Wait-listed applications are not guaranteed a loan and/or grant.
Households may apply for the Home Battery Rebate loan and grant, or just the grant. Small businesses are eligible for the grant only.
Lithium home battery systems installed under the battery rebate program may be selected for a free safety inspection as part of the government battery inspection regime. It is a condition of receiving the package that you agree to a free safety inspection. A battery inspector will contact you directly to organise an inspection.
Another €4.4 million for solar plus storage battery rebate incentives in northern Italy
After earmarking €3 million last year and €4 million in 2017, the Italian region of Lombardy has decided to further support Lithium home battery and commercial battery systems linked to renewables.
The Department of Environment, Energy and Sustainable Development of the northern Italian region of Lombardy has announced it will award another €4.4 million in-home battery rebates to support the adoption of storage systems coupled with residential and commercial solar PV.
The German government has had battery rebate incentives since 2013
The German government has understood the importance of Home battery rebate incentives and have recently reached a milestone of 100,000 batteries installed. The German government offered a 30% subsidy to homeowners to encourage them to install a home battery the offer is so popular more than half of all solar PV systems purchased in Germany includes battery storage. They are on track to achieve 200,000 Home battery installs by 2021
So why have all these government’s offered home battery rebate schemes?
And more importantly, why are West Aussies left with the question: How do I get the WA government battery subsidy? Is it because they are nice people and love giving away free money? Definitely not.
These governments have calculated it’s cheaper to offer home battery rebate subsidies than it is to upgrade their grids, one of the biggest issues for companies like Western Power around the world is the influx of solar electricity into their grids. During the day there is an abundance of power flowing into the grid from solar, then when the sun goes down the power companies need to crank up their generators to deliver power to homes in peak times. It’s a juggling act and difficult for power companies to manage.
Home Battery rebate schemes will also help combat another major issue – voltage rise. This issue is more of a problem on the WA grid than the rest of Australia. During the day Perth grid voltage can rise above 260V WA is already 10v higher than the eastern states as a standard WA is set at 240v whereas in the east it’s 230v. So why is this an issue, the high voltage reduces the life of some appliances it also affects the performance of inverters, Inverters de-rate and can even shut down with high voltage. Our advice is to have your Lithium home battery system installed by a local reputable solar Retailer to avoid these issues as much as possible always choose an Approved Solar retailer to install your Lithium home battery storage system. Check retailer’s Google reviews and don’t settle for anything less than 5 Stars to avoid the cowboys. There is no doubt the South West WA grid has major issues, by and large, these issues are a result of our ageing infrastructure, our growing population and the influx of solar energy.
So what is the most economical way of fixing this problem, this is when the battery rebate comes in. There are options. 1. The government could spend our money upgrading transformers, poles and wires to make our system more robust but that means replacing perfectly good and what should be adequate transformers with bigger ones. This option is very expensive. 2. They could install large scale grid level batteries similar to the battery installed at the Alkimos estate in the northern suburbs of Perth. This battery services around 130 homes the cost of this worked out to around $30,000 per home. 3. Or offer homes owners a WA state government battery rebate that could subsidise homeowners to install their own batteries by around $6,000 AUD – similar to South Australia – this would bring the price of a Tesla Powerwall 2 or a Senec Home Battery down to around $7,000 AUD and would mean the product would pay for itself in around 6 years. We believe this is by far the cheapest and most practical option and if you think the same please sign our petition HERE.
Solar Lithium home battery energy storage is the second residential solar revolution of our time. Affordable solar plus battery storage coupled with breakthrough technology makes for very exciting times! While the option of home energy storage has been possible for several years, the cost of deep cycle batteries and the components required have been high. As a result, this has meant that Lithium home battery energy storage has been confined to off-grid systems and storage enthusiasts up until now. The rapid drop in prices, the evolution of lithium-ion batteries and (in certain states) the battery rebate is starting to change the scene. The new generation of solar energy storage is cheaper to buy, more cost-effective, streamlined and very easy on the eye.
Let’s put an end to West Aussies being left out of the home battery rebate scheme – together we can make a difference in Western Australia and the size of our power bills!
It’s time we were heard! Enough is enough! Help us bring the WA state government battery subsidy to our state and to the residents of Perth and please sign the petition here to bring the Battery Storage Rebate to Western Australia. Then please Like and Share to help us reach our goal of 2,000 supporters!.