The Marshall Government has today revealed the details of its Home Battery Scheme, delivering on its commitment to provide more affordable, reliable, secure energy for all South Australians.

From October this year, 40,000 South Australian households will have access to $100 million in State Government subsidies to pay for the installation of home battery systems.

In addition, the Minister for Energy and Mining Dan van Holst Pellekaan this week signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Commonwealth Government’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) to deliver a $100m CEFC funding package to support the Scheme.

“In working with the CEFC we expect to be able to further assist households overcome the upfront financial barriers to accessing storage technology by offering households competitive, flexible loans where needed, in addition to the subsidies,” said Minister van Holst Pellekaan.

CEFC CEO Ian Learmonth said: “The CEFC has supported investment in home and commercial solar PV and battery storage systems as a way to reduce energy-related emissions. We are pleased that this new arrangement with the SA Government, once finalised, will allow South Australians to access tailored finance for their home energy storage systems.”

While the subsidy will be applied to the battery component only, households will be able to apply for finance to assist with the purchase new or additional solar panels as well as the battery system.

The subsidy will be available to all South Australian households and scaled in line with the size of the home battery system being installed.

Furthermore, South Australian Energy Concession Holders will be able to access a higher subsidy, ensuring households on low-incomes are supported to access the technology.

While the subsidy will vary depending on the size of the battery purchased, it will be capped at a maximum of $6000.

The subsidy levels and the subsidy cap are expected to reduce over time as competition in the market increases and the cost of home battery systems goes down.

A set of minimum technical requirements for battery systems has been developed to ensure the batteries are safe, reliable and capable of being recruited into a virtual power plant.

While households will be able to choose whether or not their home battery system operates as part of a virtual power plant, the ability to aggregate household solar and batteries – either now or at a future point in time – creates opportunities to address network issues and smooth loads by balancing out peak power demands.

The Scheme will directly reduce electricity costs for the 40,000 households that purchase a subsidised household energy storage system. In addition, the installation of these systems will reduce demand on the network (especially at peak periods) and in turn lower prices for all South Australians.

A dedicated website will assist homeowners to consider their suitability for a home battery system, choose between approved products and system providers, access the subsidy and apply for finance, if required.

Industry participation

To supply and install eligible home battery systems under the Scheme, industry providers will be required to first qualify as a System Provider.

Businesses interested in becoming System Providers can register their contact details on the Department for Energy and Mining website, to be notified when the accreditation process is announced. Visit: www.energymining.sa.gov.au/hbs to register.

A call for businesses who have registered their interest in applying to become qualified System Providers is expected to occur later this month.

As part of the qualification process, installers and suppliers of home battery storage systems will be required to specify the extent to which their products and services contribute to the South Australian economy.

In assessing applications, priority will be given to System Providers that commit to installing approved battery systems that are manufactured or assembled in South Australia.

Qualified System Providers that commit to selling locally manufactured or assembled battery systems will be afforded a nine-week exclusivity period when the Scheme launches in October.

More information

Further information about the Home Battery Scheme, including responses to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), is available from the Department for Energy and Mining website: www.energymining.sa.gov.au/hbs Alternatively, you can call 8463 3555