Rooftop solar saves money, and batteries can wipe out bills: Labor pushes household savings

Australian households can wipe out their electricity bills entirely with solar and a battery, new analysis has found, with annual savings calculated at between $1322 and $2252 for homes with both PV and energy storage.

The federal government analysis finds that rooftop solar and a battery with storage capacity of 8.5kWh can cut the average Australian household’s annual energy bills by 75 to 100-plus per cent.

With rooftop solar alone, the same study shows that households can cut their energy bills by between 39 and 57 per cent – a saving of between $822 and $1350 a year per household – depending on where they are on the grid.

The study from federal Labor’s department of climate change, energy, the environment and water (DCCEEW) also refers to recent data from the Australian Energy Market Operator that shows how rooftop solar has helped to push down wholesale electricity prices across the grid by reducing demand of fossil fuels during the day.

As AEMO’s quarterly report revealed last week, record rooftop solar and a mild winter delivered a plunge in wholesale electricity prices over the three months to September and delivered new record lows in electricity demand.

AEMO said rooftop solar output was up by almost one-third (31 per cent) on the same quarter last year, and in September alone was 41 per cent up on a year ago. This has helped drive a 71% reduction in wholesale prices in the space of a year by reducing demand for expensive fossil fuel sources during the day.

Rooftop solar has been one of the few successes of the renewable revolution of the past 12 months, along with utility scale battery storage, with experts at the All Energy conference this week predicting it could set a record 3.2 GW of new installations in 2023.

And Labor is under political pressure to deliver on its promised bill savings, a prediction that got derailed by the energy crisis and soaring fossil fuel costs caused by the Russia invasion of Ukraine.

“The more renewable energy we have in our grid the lower energy prices are,” said federal energy minister Chris Bowen at a media conference in Brisbane with the state energy minister Mick de Brenni.

“We see that just in the latest figures out – quarterly figures show us that wholesale energy prices are down 71 per cent on the same time last year.

“That’s the result of two things: the coal and gas caps that the Albanese government put in place with the governments of New South Wales and Queensland and, importantly, big increases in solar production, rooftop and grid-scale utility.”

As Bowen notes, all this means lower bills for non-solar households, too; although as the data shows, by far the biggest home energy savings to be had are for those who have the means to install solar and a battery and to go all-electric.

At the Brisbane press conference on Friday, Bowen and de Brenni showcased local home owner Anthony Tseng, who told reporters that solar and a battery was saving his four-person household around $600 to $700 every quarter in its energy bills.

“We have two kids at home. Heat travels up to the second floor. They can’t sleep at night sometimes. The fan sometimes just won’t do it. So we’re having that saving and knowing that we have air-con on, it gives us peace of mind at night.”

Of course, not every household has the means – or even the rooftop – to install solar, let alone battery storage. The local retail cost of a 13.5kWh Tesla Powerwall 2 home battery, for instance, currently sits at $A12,990 – this price doesn’t include the $750 rebate Tesla is offering in Australia until the end of December.

Speaking at a press conference from Queensland on Friday, Bowen said governments were aware of this and were helping families make those choices.

“Our $1.7 billion household energy savings plan that we announced in the budget, for example, a billion dollars worth of low interest loans, $300 million to help social housing tenants make the transition to renewable energy and energy efficiency, our solar banks policy – $100 million across the country – is very much focused on renters and apartment dwellers,” he said.

“We’ve already announced the deal with ACT and Victoria, and I’ll be announcing other states in the coming period.”

For Queensland, de Brenni told reporters on Thursday that his government was working with the Smart Energy Council on a program designed to help more households in the Sunshine State get access to solar savings.

“Today we’re at the – an average suburban home – two storey, two adults, two children, a swimming pool, and it’s like four out of every 10 Queensland homes that have the opportunity to install solar,” de Brenni said.

“And talking to the owners here just a few moments ago, they made the decision to get into solar, the installation of a battery and an electric vehicle because it saves them on their cost of living.

“We know that Queenslanders have a huge appetite to leverage our incredible natural resources to put money back into their pocket.

“That’s why we’re so energetic about supporting more households to be able to make this choice,” the minister said.

“Solar saves money. It’s as simple as that,” said acting SEC chief Wayne Smith at the press conference.

“The best thing that you can do to save money on your power bill is to get solar. And if you have solar and a solar battery …not only are you slashing your power bill but you’re also taking control of your own energy. You’re deciding when and how to produce electricity.

“Australians get it. …And I really want to pay tribute to the Australian government and to minister Chris Bowen for the work that he’s done with the renewable energy target … that’s helping families right across the country save money on their power bills.

“Similarly, [there’s an] extraordinary amount of support for families throughout Queensland around solar, installing solar and installing batteries as well,” Smith said.