Rewiring Australia in the news

A Rewiring Australia survey finds few home battery owners have joined virtual power plants, with loss of control and lack of trust holding them back.

The gas industry has been accused of unleashing a “scare campaign” before the Victorian election as it pressures the state government to reverse a ban on gas in new homes.

Rewiring Australia's Calum joins ABC Radio Canberra Mornings to talk about balcony solar.

Go Electric Canberra opens registrations, crediting Rewiring Australia and Electrify Canberra volunteers for four years of community advocacy.

Rewiring Australia CEO Francis Vierboom joins The Daily Aus podcast to talk about Electric Saul and how households can make the switch.

Electric Future, working with Rewiring Australia and Electrify Canberra, will help up to 1,000 households in Canberra's south electrify their homes.

Banks is chosen for the $8.2 million Go Electric trial, with Rewiring Australia research showing households could save up to $5000 a year.

The federal government backs Go Electric Canberra, a trial for 1,000 households led by Electric Future and supported by Rewiring Australia.

The Electrify Australia campaign launch features on ABC The World Today, with a short grab from Saul Griffith.

Francis Vierboom on the Electrify Australia campaign and why helping farmers electrify is the durable answer to oil price shocks.

Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen said all states and territories had agreed to look at how plug-in solar and batteries could work in Australia to give apartment dwellers and renters more control over their bills.

More than 30 organisations, including Rewiring Australia, launch the Electrify Australia campaign calling for stronger support for electric appliances, equipment and vehicles.

Kristen McDonald speaks with ABC Newcastle Breakfast about new NSW funding for community-led energy support.

Kristen McDonald speaks with Craig Reucassel on ABC Sydney Breakfast about new NSW funding for community-led energy support.

The NSW Government is investing $4.7 million in 12 community and not-for-profit energy organisations, including Rewiring Australia, to help households cut their energy bills.

Australian experts share tips for cutting water heating costs and emissions, with a call out for Electric Saul.

Rewiring Australia analysis finds renters are paying $440 million to keep gas connected, and calls for landlords to cover gas connection charges.

Saul Griffith talks to John Stanley about Electric Saul, an AI tool trained on the context of Australian electricity.

US outlet Canary Media looks to Australia's free power program as a blueprint, with comment from Rewiring Australia founder Saul Griffith.

Kenyan news site Streamline covers the launch of Electric Saul, the free AI electrification planner from Rewiring Australia and Google.

Rewiring Australia launches Electric Saul, a free AI-powered tool that gives households personalised advice on getting off gas and going electric.

#EXCLUSIVE: An Australian inventor has built an AI tool to guide you through the maze of energy options and help slash your household bills, providing relief for Aussies struggling with skyrocketing power prices. #9News

This year's federal budget included an $11.9 billion National Fuel Security Plan; $3.2 billion of that is to physically stockpile diesel and jet fuel. But what if instead we worked out how to use less diesel? Frances Vierboom, chief executive of non-profit renewable advocacy group Rewiring Australia, said Australia had an obvious problem.

This sum­mer, people in parts of Aus­tralia and the U.K. are get­ting their elec­tri­city for free. And it's all thanks to renew­ables. Both coun­tries have so much wind and solar that surge into the grid reg­u­larly, it leaves the elec­tri­city sys­tem oper­at­ors with a good prob­lem: more power than they know what to do with.

Francis Vierboom joins Breakfast with Melinda James to react to the business solar news, following Rewiring Australia's report released two weeks earlier.

Rewiring Australia CEO Francis Vierboom speaks to PM about the business solar upgrade, a new frontier many businesses will be keen to explore.

The Saturday Paper's coverage of the expanded renewables scheme links to Saul Griffith's essay on electrification.

Charles Coppel writes about electrifying his home, inspired by Saul Griffith's The Big Switch, and recommends Rewiring Australia's guide to the home electrification process.

Video interview with Rewiring Australia on how home electrification can help tackle Australia's energy crisis.

Households could save about $2000 per year by using their car to power the home most of the time, according to Rewiring Australia analysis.

Rewiring Australia has put forward five policy strategies it believes will prompt landlords to electrify the properties they own, starting with minimum rental standards in every state and territory requiring gas appliances like hot water systems and heaters to be replaced with efficient electric alternatives at end of life.

Rewiring Australia wants renters to be able to reap the benefits of renewable energy, including powering their homes from their cars. Rental properties are significantly less energy efficient than owner-occupied homes, especially in low socio-economic and regional areas.

Kristen McDonald, a director at Rewiring Australia, says the case is “even more compelling now” for electric upgrades to home appliances, solar panels, batteries or cars. “Because once you do have them in place, they’re permanent savings for you,” she says.

Experts say expanding oil infrastructure, instead of embracing electric vehicles, would ignore basic economics

“Even in a record-setting month, during a national fuel crisis, when filling up an EV costs a small fraction of the petrol equivalent, six in seven new car buyers still chose a petrol car,” Vierboom said.

Rewiring Australia welcomed the federal government's move to retain the electric vehicle fringe benefits tax (FBT) exemption, while warning the country remains far from mass EV adoption.

Energy Minister Chris Bowen has seized on the fuel crisis to underline the need for electrification and renewable energy. But a lot of Australians have already done it. Households are spending their own money, taking the risk, and figuring out how to cut fossil fuels out of their lives.

We should be working towards a lowest-cost energy system that also rapidly addresses climate change. Fortunately, these things are no longer in conflict. A zero-emission, all-electric Australia is also going to be the lowest-cost energy system.

Motorists are abandoning petrol and diesel vehicles as the effects of the fuel crisis continue to bite in the lead-up to Easter, with public electric vehicle chargers recording a 20 per cent spike in use. Rewiring Australia chief executive Francis Vierboom said the fuel crisis presented a moment of opportunity to government.