Dan Cass, executive director of Rewiring Australia, said rooftop solar was a cost-of-living solution for poorer households. “Rich families don’t need to save money on bills, which is why the mansions of Toorak and Woollahra rarely sport a super-sized solar array sufficient to offset their high-energy lifestyles,” Cass said.
DownloadReadWe look forward to working closely with the new Assistant Minister Josh Wilson to deliver cleaner, cheaper energy to Australian households. It's time for Australia to go for gold in the consumer energy transition, and with the right policies, we can secure a place on the podium in the race to Net Zero.
DownloadReadRewiring Australia Co-founder Saul Griffith says Australia has the “easiest path” to “electrify” its economy. “The reality is Australia has the easiest path to electrify its economy of probably any economy and we have the most benefit to gain from it."
DownloadRead"Consumers are getting their tariffs changed without notice and we’re pushing ahead with sun taxes before solar soaking is in the market: just two examples where it’s obvious the energy market is set up to make it easy to run for central regulators and large energy companies, not cheaper and easier for consumers."
DownloadReadRewiring Australia Executive Director Dan Cass welcomed the move by the New South Wales government. “This is a really excellent policy and we hope other states and the federal government back in the direction led by New South Wales,” Mr Cass said.
DownloadRead“Incentivising households and businesses to take up batteries means more cheap solar power in the grid and reduces our reliance on harmful fossil fuels. Yet again, households are the heroes in the energy transition,” said Rewiring Australia Executive Director Dan Cass.
DownloadReadNow that Origin Energy is being paid by taxpayers to keep Eraring coal fired power station open it should be forced to sell electricity at fair prices, to serve the interests of its taxpayers not just shareholders, Rewiring Australia said today.
ReadDownloadTonight’s federal budget includes important commitments to build clean energy manufacturing, reform its energy market and improve the nation’s electrical skill base, critical steps towards universal electrification of the nation’s homes, according to Rewiring Australia.
ReadDownloadExpanding the gas industry until 2050 and beyond contradicts the government’s own work on a Net Zero Plan and will result in higher energy bills and a devastating increase in greenhouse gas emissions, said Rewiring Australia following the release of the Future Gas Strategy.
ReadDownload“We need the government to coordinate Australian public and private investment in the processing of critical minerals and development of technologies from home-grown innovators in green metals. This will leverage Australia’s competitive advantage as a clean energy superpower and ensure the profits do not flow overseas."
ReadDownload"Everyone is going to need a way off the fossil fuel ship. Our proposal for flexible, safe, government-backed finance that’s accessible across incomes will ensure that upfront costs don’t get in the way of slashing bills and emissions for every property in Australia."
ReadDownload“We know if we really had high adoption across Australian households, that would save them $1.7 trillion between now and 2050. We really shouldn’t think of this as what it’s cost to the government is, it’s what can this investment recoup to Australia in terms of savings over the long haul?”
ReadDownloadFounder of Rewiring Australia Saul Griffiths is proposing that Australia needs a HECS style loan program for solar energy. He told Raf Epstein that Australian's could both slash climate emissions and energy bills if they go ahead with his plan.
ReadDownloadIt is possible the federal government will step in with its own loan products for electrifying households as suggested by scientist Saul Griffith in AFR Weekend. But with the likelihood of means testing there will still be an enormous lending opportunity for the banks.
ReadDownload“If the government makes an investment like HECS, it will deliver permanent cost-of-living relief, solve the problem of light vehicle pollution, and propel Australia to the top of the class in climate action,” Dr Griffith said.
ReadDownloadAustralia has the highest solar radiation of any continent and rooftop solar is the cheapest energy in the world. An investment from the government now will make Australia more energy-resilient and self-sufficient and save Australians from increasing power bills.
DownloadRead“This is a policy patch on a leaking ship,” adds Rewiring Australia energy market reform adviser Vikki McLeod. “Households will be the heavy-lifters in a future energy market, and we need to write that potential into the market rules now. We need to start looking at how we can unlock the benefits that customer energy resources (CERs) can provide at scale and at pace."
DownloadRead“For the first time, the best thing for the climate is the best thing for hip pockets. Their shift means the entire Australian parliament is now essentially on board. With such overwhelming consensus, we now need an aggressive, non-partisan plan to help households electrify as quickly and fairly as possible.”
DownloadReadThe final handover report from the former Energy Security Board, released by the federal government, calls for energy distribution companies to integrate household solar into the grid. But it falls short of recommending the governance and competition reset that is required.
DownloadRead“We welcome the handover recommendations, but the ESB did not go far enough,” added Rewiring Australia chief scientist Saul Griffith. “Energy ministers should review governance of the NEM. “Nothing can compete with cheap rooftop solar at 5c/Kwh so it is no surprise the big energy companies are trying to thwart this competition from their own consumers."
DownloadRead"Australia's millions of solar households aren't being allowed to compete against their energy company in the market," says Rewiring Australia's Executive Director Dan Cass. Advocates for rooftop solar says changes are needed to Australia's electricity market, to better integrate solar users, and give them more options to find good deals when selling their energy back into the grid.
DownloadReadRewiring Australia founder and entrepreneur Saul Griffith said: “The technology BlueScope will deploy with this grant is marginally better than the steel it has been producing, but it is not green enough to compete in the emerging market for low or zero-emissions metal.
DownloadReadThe transition to renewables is causing a lot of angst and anger in rural Australia as major projects like wind and solar and the transmission lines that connect them to the grid are cutting across thousands of properties. Now the federal government says it accepts the recommendations of a "community engagement review" which has found a better job needs to done of communicating how farmers will be affected. But there's concern that will do little to stop the so-called "bad faith actors" seeking to exploit local communities.
DownloadRead"We are delighted that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Premier Chris Minns have taken up our policy to provide grants to electrify social housing properties. Household electrification is the fastest, most cost effective way to reduce emissions - and it also decreases the cost of living by significantly reducing energy bills."
DownloadRead“AEMO has moved considerably to embrace the potential of electrification but is yet to catch up with the rooftop revolution led by millions of Australian households. AEMO should be thinking outside the box and innovating ways to bring about faster and greater deployment of consumer energy technologies."
DownloadRead"Hecs-style loans for household electrification would be repaid through income tax. This would put more money in the pockets of people who really need it while simultaneously allowing the nation to put its foot on the clean-energy pedal."
DownloadRead"To truly pivot towards a sustainable future, household electrification must be central to this strategy. Electrification is the rapid, cost-effective and proven path to significantly cut emissions while permanently slashing energy bills."
DownloadRead"Community batteries are absolutely critical to the transition. They allow people in suburbs and towns to pool and share the clean energy they harvest, delivering significant economic benefits while taking pressure off large scale transmission."
DownloadRead“Victoria has the most to gain from electrification, because it has the most households relying on gas and exposed to price gouging by international gas companies. The state government has a clear and sensible plan to lower household bills and decrease reliance on fossil fuels. This is the type of common-sense leadership Australia needs."
DownloadReadRewiring Australia research shows that decisions made around the kitchen table account for 42% of emissions in the domestic consumption economy. Households and communities are central to the challenge of increasing the rate of emissions reduction and they should be actively consulted in preference to the big energy industry incumbents.
DownloadReadWhile successive federal governments have focused on cutting carbon emissions from energy providers, the new government program is aiming to embrace what technologist and Rewiring Australia founder Saul Griffith has called the “household electrification revolution”.
DownloadRead“We are underestimating how much of our electricity we can actually generate on our rooftops and within our communities,” Griffith says. “If we had the incentives set more sanely in the rules of the NEM (the National Electricity Market), and we were prioritsing households and communities, we could be selling that rooftop solar to each other much more cheaply."
DownloadReadThe federal government promised a ‘meaningful and substantial’ package of electrification measures in the federal budget and this announcement is the first part. Swapping out fossil fueled devices and energy sources for renewable-backed electrification is the fastest, most cost effective way to decarbonise our domestic economy. It embeds thousands of dollars worth of annual savings into the annual operations of small businesses, saving that accrue over the long term.
DownloadReadSaul Griffith was in conversation with Taryn Lane on his new Quarterly Essay, The Wires That Bind. Electrification and community renewal, a compelling vision of green energy at a local level. Australia is at a crossroads. Inventor, engineer and visionary Saul Griffith reveals the world that awaits us if we make the most of Australia's energy future. Griffith paints an inspiring yet practical picture of empowered local communities acting collectively when it comes to renewable energy, and benefiting financially.
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