Greens kick off election home battery battle with suite of grants and loans to get homes off gas

The Greens have announced a policy plan to electrify households and businesses, including a range of grants and loans to help them replace gas appliances with efficient electric alternatives and to invest in battery storage to store rooftop solar.

Under the policy, to be unveiled on Wednesday, households could get up to $10,000 in the form of a grant and a low-interest loan of up to $20,000, while small business could get $25,000 in grants and up to $100,000 in loans.

The money would be available for various stages of the transition process, including upgrading from single to three-phase power, replacing gas space heating with an electric heat pump, replacing gas stove tops and other kitchen appliances, installing electric vehicle chargers, and replacing gas reliant industrial technologies like boilers and furnaces.

For battery storage, households would have to access grants of up to $5,000 – or 50 per cent of the total cost – and low-interest loans of up to $10,000, making a major dent in the average cost of installing behind-the-meter storage of between $9,000 and $17,000.

Small business, meanwhile, could access grants of up to $10,000 and loans up to $50,000 to help cover the cost of adding storage.

Under the plan, the Greens estimate that helping households and businesses around Australia get off gas would cost about $5 billion, while supporting them to install batteries would cost a total of around $3 billion.

That’s no small sum, but evidence shows that Australians are significantly overpaying for ageing gas infrastructure, to the tune of about $1.8 billion in the eight years between 2014 and 2022. 

That fact, combined with Australia’s climate commitments, mean the transition away from gas is pressing – but the upfront costs associated with that transition can be staggering, ranging from $2,000 to upwards of $16,000, depending on a household’s reliance on gas, and on installation costs.

In a statement, the Greens said that with a minority government likely after the looming election, they hoped to push Labor to act more on climate.

“In a wealthy country like ours, everyone should have clean, cheap energy,” said Greens leader Adam Bandt MP. “The Greens want to turn every house into a powerhouse. 

“Getting homes off gas reduces pollution and helps bring down energy bills. It’s good for your health and it’s good for the environment.

“This election, there is hope. The Greens are within reach of winning new seats across the country. With a minority government predicted, the Greens will keep Dutton out and get Labor to act.”