Government boosts its home battery program by $5 billion. But it still has big problems |
Over the weekend the federal government announced major changes to its A$2.3 billion home battery subsidy program.
The changes include nearly A$5 billion in extra funding and adjustments to the financial support provided for different-sized batteries. They follow recent reporting by The Conversation that the program is subsidising unnecessarily large home batteries and blowing out in cost.
Announcing the changes, Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen said:
We want more Aussie households to have access to batteries that are good for bills and good for the grid – because it means more cheap, fast, safe solar energy is available in our homes night or day, when and where it’s needed.
However, while the changes are a step in the right direction towards ensuring the program is fairer, many significant problems still exist.
The A$2.3 billion Cheaper Home Batteries Program started in July this year. It has provided discounts of around 30% for the upfront cost of home batteries. The government estimated it would lead to one million batteries installed by 2030.
More than 155,000 homes and small businesses have benefited from the program in less than six months.
This success has some benefit for others too, as........