1 week Ago By Giles Parkinson
The Greens have unveiled a unique plan to use the federal government owned Snowy Hydro and a newly created $10 billion fund to enable Australia’s seven million renters get access to rooftop solar PV and the opportunity to cut their bills. The announcement, unveiled by Greens leader Adam Bandt at the Smart Energy Council conference in Sydney on Thursday, would allow renters to request an average-sized solar panel system, up to 8kW, to be installed at their rental properties. Landlords would only be able to refuse on reasonable grounds, including restrictive body corporate rules, engineering challenges or local energy congestion constraints.
It is part of the Greens “Powering past coal and gas” policy that aims to fast-track Australia’s net zero target from 2050 to 2035, which it says is critical for the science. The Greens oppose new gas and coal projects, and intend to bring their potential influence to bear in a future Labor minority government. Household energy systems have become a major focus of policy unveilings in this election campaign, responding to the growth of consumer energy resources – including rooftop solar, battery storage, and electric vehicles.
These are expected to become the dominant part of Australia’s electricity grid in coming years – and rooftop solar is already the biggest single contributor – at least in capacity if not in output – and these assets are critical to the ability of households to manage costs. Labor last weekend announced a $2.3 billion home battery scheme that it says will support the rollout of 1.
1 million household batteries out to 2030. But the Greens are the first to develop a policy that specifically addresses renters, long the forgotten part of the electricity consumer ecosystem. “Labor has adopted part of the Greens’ home electrification policy of support for batteries but Labor’s policy does nothing for renters,” Bandt said.
“The Greens are the party of renters. “Renters need solar. Getting solar on your rental property will help lower your power bill while also lowering emissions.
It’s good for renters, good for the environment. “There are seven million renters in Australia and they deserve to be able to cut their power bills and reduce their emissions, just like homeowners can.” Bandt says the solar systems and installation for renters would be paid for through a new $10 billion fund established through Snowy Hydro.
The panels will be listed as an asset on Snowy Hydro’s balance sheet with a caveat placed on the title of the property. Landlords could elect to pay this amount off early if they choose, otherwise Snowy Hydro will be entitled to be repaid the amount owing when the property is sold or its ownership transferred. Bandt told the SEC that a Labor minority government was the most likely outcome of the May 3, and noted that the last time a minority Labor government was in place, more than a decade ago, produced the Clean Energy Act which included the renewable energy target, the Climate Authority, the CEFC, and Arena.
more to follow.
