Free rooftop solar panels and Tesla home batteries rolled out to 3000 SA homes
Free rooftop solar panels and Tesla home batteries will be rolled out to 3000 homes in SA, slashing power prices for tenants adopting the world-leading technology.
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Solar panels and batteries will be installed free on 3000 Housing SA homes in a $61 million expansion of a government scheme.
About 80 jobs will be created for 18 months to install the solar panels and Tesla batteries.
The Housing SA tenants will not own the systems but will buy the energy generated and stored under the cheapest electricity offer in the state.
The project follows earlier stages which delivered savings for families and all consumers by strengthening the power grid.
“Working with Tesla, we have expanded the scheme from 100 to 1100 homes, and will now take that to 4100 Housing SA properties across the state,” Energy and Mining Minister Dan van Holst Pellekaan said.
“This is the largest per capita roll out of home batteries in the world – in combination with the Home Battery Scheme and free batteries for bushfire victims, this takes the number of home batteries already installed and committed in SA to over 20,000.”
Clean Energy Finance Corporation chief executive Ian Learmonth said the project would showcase the use of smart technology.
“This is an exciting program with the potential to deliver enormous benefits to the social housing tenants as well as the SA electricity grid,” he said.
“Tenants are often locked out of the clean energy market because they are unable to install rooftop solar systems on rental properties.”
Federal Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister Angus Taylor said the scheme would “help households meet their energy needs, support grid stability and lower emissions”.
“The virtual power plant could help tenants meet up to 80 per cent of their annual electricity needs, offering the lowest electricity rate in the state,” Mr Taylor said.
Tesla will invest $18m in the project, the State Government will undertake to pay for $10m in services and the federal Australian Renewable Energy Agency will provide an $8.2m grant. The federal Clean Energy Finance Corporation will make available a loan of up to $30m.
Tesla will link up the batteries in a virtual power plant where electricity can be supplied to the power grid as well as the household.
The tenant will buy electricity at a price 22 per cent lower than the default market offer.
Tesla and the Government will identify properties which are suitable and approach tenants to join the scheme with a 5kW solar and 13.5kWh battery.
The project follows completion of increasing the size of the Tesla big battery at the Hornsdale Power Reserve at Jamestown.
The government is investigating whether state-owned properties managed by community housing providers rather than Housing SA could join the scheme in a future stage.
Tesla aims to expand to 50,000 homes with its project open under different conditions to homeowners.
Analysis by the Australian Energy Market Operator of the first stages of the virtual power plant found it helped households save and supported the grid, especially during unexpected problems.
Housing SA tenant Tracey Sleader said she was pleased to run her home from renewable energy after joining the first stage of the project.
“Joining the VPP and having solar and Powerwall installed has reduced our energy bills, saving us money,” she said.
Mr Learmonth said the investment would “strengthen the business case for further investment in VPPs, taking advantage of our vast solar potential and opening up commercial-scale revenue opportunities for batteries.”
ARENA chief executive Darren Miller said the project was part of the evolution to provide dispatchable power and grid stability using clean energy.