Australia continues to set renewable energy installation records year by year. In 2023, 1 in 4 households are generating electricity directly on their roofs and cutting their electricity bills.
source: International Energy Agency
At the recent 28th UN COP, Australia has joined more than 100 other countries in committing to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030. This is great news for Australia and for global CO2 emissions reduction. However, it is a significant undertaking for the signatory countries including Australia. Whilst the policy framework in Australia is providing substantial subsidy for rooftop solar installation and has made us the world champion in rooftop solar, there is still much more work to do. The Climate Change authority (CCA), the government organisation acting as the primary advisor to the Climate Change minister in Australia has recently called for rooftop solar subsidy extension, include home batteries and EV chargers.
We have seen sharp increases in retail electricity price over recent years despite government promise of reduction in electricity bills. Experts are predicting an eventual downturn on electricity bills once additional renewable generation is added to the network. However, large scale renewable projects such as the Snowy Hydro 2 are facing significant implementation challenges. In the meantime, the best option for Australian households is to generate their energy directly from their rooftop where possible. But we must ensure that Australia does not leave behind certain segments of our community who end up paying much higher electricity bills whilst others pivot to rooftop solar and batteries in the coming years.
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