COMMUNITY BATTERY PLAN TO CUT HOUSEHOLD BILLS AND EMISSIONS

08 April 2021

An Albanese Labor Government will deliver Power to the People - Community Battery Plan to cut power bills, support the grid and reduce emissions.

Federal Member for Blair Shayne Neumann said you only need to look across our suburbs to see the popularity of rooftop solar.

“Local households have been voting with their feet on rooftop solar, with one in five households having solar power,” Mr Neumann said.

“This makes us a world leader in terms of solar households.

“But without battery storage, solar households are still reliant on the grid when the sun isn’t shining.

“Only one in 60 households have battery storage, because the upfront costs are still just too high.”

Labor’s Power to the People is a $200 million investment to install 400 community batteries across the country.

It will support 100, 000 households by storing energy from solar households during the day, and drawing on it at night – reducing power bills, reducing demand on the grid at peak times, and cutting emissions.

Households that can’t install solar (like apartments and renters) can participate by drawing from excess energy stored in community batteries.

“Labor’s Power to the People will unlock the full potential of rooftop solar for Australian households – lower power bills, cut emissions, and help stabilise the grid,” he said.

“The technology of the future to cut household bills and emissions is already here, we just need the policy settings to unleash it.  

“When it comes to lower power bills and reducing fuel costs for families, Labor is on your side.