Home battery subsidies of up to $6,000 will help South Australians install solar energy storage.
The Marshall Liberal Government officially announced the $100 million Home Battery Scheme on the weekend. The scheme is due to start in October this year.
Up to 40,000 households will be able to access solar installations and home battery storage. Those on lower incomes will be eligible for the highest subsidies.
South Australia set to lead Australia in energy storage
The Home Battery Scheme and its subsidies will place South Australia ahead of the pack in terms of battery uptake across the nation.
The subsidy will be available to all South Australians for battery components only. It will be scaled according to battery size and household income.
The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) is also supporting the scheme. Households can apply for tailored finance to help them purchase new or extra solar panels. This is in addition to the home battery system.
German battery giant sonnen sets up in South Australia
Also on the weekend, German battery manufacturer sonnen officially announced that its Asian Pacific HQ will be based in Adelaide.
Sonnen will assemble and manufacture 50,000 battery storage systems in SA’s former GM Holden car plant over the next five years. This will create around 430 manufacturing and installation jobs.
Using a sonnen home battery users can join the sonnenFlat energy-sharing scheme. This links up to a virtual power network where users can store, share and trade the solar energy they generate.
Because the sonnenBatterie can charge and discharge several times a day it can also supply energy to the grid during peak demand.
Home battery subsidies will reduce energy costs
Meanwhile, in another initiative, eligible households can choose whether to connect their home battery system to South Australia’s virtual power plant (VPP) project.
Tesla and the South Australian government are developing a network of at least 50,000 solar storage systems across the state. These will feature Tesla Powerwall batteries.
As a result, South Australia will eventually host the world’s largest virtual power plant.
