Energy bills: SA cuts Home Battery Scheme maximum subsidy amount
In an effort to give their household an energy upgrade, thousands of people in South Australia have signed up to the South Australian Government’s Home Battery Scheme (HBS) in the last five weeks.
Announced in October 2018, the HBS provides government subsidies and low-interest loans to help households pay for a home battery systems and new solar panels if required.
However, due to the surge in applicants, the maximum subsidy has now been reduced from $6,000 to $4,000.
More specifically, energy concession holders will now receive $400 per kWh and $300 per kWh for non concession holders. The total number of subsidies currently sits at 12,334.
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According to South Australian Minister for Energy and Mining, Dan van Holst Pellekaan, the increase in applications has created an abundance of employment opportunities in the renewables industry.
“Homeowners have been banging down the doors of the system providers to get themselves a home battery during the last five weeks,” he said.
“The massive uptake of the HBS has also created a mini jobs boom for home battery installers at the very moment we need as much work as we can possibly get in South Australia.”
Van Holst Pellekaan explained that the subsidy reduction was not a spur of the moment decision, as the scheme was designed to shrink as competition in the market grew and battery costs dropped.
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The rise in battery installations also means that South Australia will have an additional 146MWh of extra storage to help reduce energy bills for customers.
“South Australia is light years ahead of the other Australians states when it comes to the adoption of the electricity cost-saving and environmentally responsible home batteries,” said Van Holst Pellekaan.
But just because you don’t live in South Australia doesn’t mean you can’t give your home a renewable boost.
We have a range of guides from home batteries to how solar energy works and even renewable energy 101 to help you get started!
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