Solar relief for social housing as four companies act to slash soaring power bills

Four renewable energy companies have partnered to create a lower-cost solar package that could slash power bills for social housing tenants by up to 40%.

The cost of living will continue to rise in 2023, with electricity prices set to increase by between 19 and 22% across the nation from 1 July 2023, when changes to the Australian Energy Regulator’s (AER) Default Market Offer come into effect.

In Victoria, power prices will rise by about 30% according to the Essential Services Commission (ESC), the state’s economic regulator. In material terms, that means a typical Victorian household will pay an extra $426 per year (though some of those costs will be offset by a new round of the $250 Power Saving Bonus).

In the face of soaring energy costs, rooftop solar can save households up to $1,000 per year on their energy bills, but for the most part the people who benefit from this are homeowners with their own rooftops, rather than apartment-dwellers. Social housing tenants, in particular, will be hit the hardest.

Dubbed the ‘Solar Social Housing Package’, the new initiative amounts to a $3,750 discount on the panels, mounting equipment, smart meters and solar sharing technology required to effectively distributed solar power to the residents of apartment blocks.

The discount would allow social housing providers, primarily federal and state governments, to install the systems at lower cost.

According to figures from Allume Energy, one of the four members of the new partnership, the addition of rooftop solar could slash tenants’ power bills by up to 40%, and more if coupled with battery storage.

“Allume is thrilled to work together with our associates to solve problems that matter,” said Cameron Knox, CEO of Allume Energy.

“It is crucial that apartment residents can access clean, affordable energy, particularly social housing tenants, who are often disproportionately affected by the rising cost of energy. Communities shouldn’t have to decide between putting food on the table and heating their homes.”

The four companies behind the package are rooftop solar sharing technology developer Allume Energy, solar technology provider Axitec, solar mounting and cable manufacturer Clenergy and PV manufacturer Fronius.

Allume is the Australian company behind the innovative SolShare, a world-first piece of hardware and software that enables the sharing of solar energy from a single rooftop solar system among multiple dwellings in the same building. SolShare’s smart technology can distribute electricity evenly between dwellings or tenants can opt to pay variable rates depending on their energy needs.

In 2021, Allume was named one of the 41 finalists in the Australian Technologies Competition. Since then, the company has begun expansion into the UK and US.