Solar

Free rooftop solar for low-income households in NSW govt deal

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New South Wales is seeking to boost the uptake of solar by the state’s low-income households, with the launch of a $15 million initiative that offers to install free rooftop PV in the place of a cost of living rebate.

The trial scheme, announced late last month, targets families receiving the government’s Low Income Household Rebate – a modest $285 a year (78c a day) energy bill deduction.

It will offer up to 3,400 eligible households the option to forgo that payment in exchange for 2.5kW of rooftop solar – a small system compared the the average size being installed today, but which will nonetheless deliver much improved power savings over the rebate.

“The bill savings from the rooftop solar trial are expected to be close to double the value of existing rebate savings with an average bill reduction of $600 per household per year,” said acting secretary of the Department of Planning and Environment, Dr Liz Develin.

Read the full story on RenewEconomy sister site, One Step Off The Grid…

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Sophie Vorrath

Sophie is editor of Renew Economy and editor of its sister site, One Step Off The Grid . She is the co-host of the Solar Insiders Podcast. Sophie has been writing about clean energy for more than a decade.

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