"Electrification is already smashing energy bills for millions of Australian consumers and this announcement will share that benefit to 50,000 households who most need it", said Rewiring Australia Executive Director Dan Cass.
DownloadRead“Australia desperately needs a new deal in energy markets that puts consumers on the same footing as institutional investors and big energy companies,” said Rewiring Australia Executive Director Dan Cass. "Consumers are the biggest and most reliable investor in new energy capacity through solar, batteries, electric appliances and electric cars.
DownloadRead“Electrify 2515 is about a community solving climate change together. This will be the first community where we show the world ‘this is how we do it’ to positively impact climate change while improving the lives of people. In a nutshell, the community that electrifies together, thrives together.”
DownloadRead“Encouraging battery installation is a smart way to reduce energy bills and bring down emissions,” said Rewiring Australia Executive Director Dan Cass. “The greatest source of household emissions is energy use and households make up a large portion of national emissions.
DownloadReadRewiring Australia co-founder Saul Griffith, who helped write US President Joe Biden’s signature Inflation Reduction Act that invests in projects to battle climate change, is on a mission to get Australia to run entirely on renewable energy by helping households make the switch to cut carbon emissions and lower energy bills.
DownloadReadDan 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.
ReadDownloadWe 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.
ReadDownloadRewiring 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."
ReadDownload"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."
ReadDownloadRewiring 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.
ReadDownload“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.
DownloadReadTonight’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.
DownloadReadExpanding 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.
DownloadRead“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."
DownloadRead"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."
DownloadRead“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?”
DownloadReadFounder 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.
DownloadReadIt 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.
DownloadRead“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.
DownloadReadAustralia 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."
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