Households and businesses to receive $2,400 discount

The NSW government has launched a new program, incentivising households and businesses with rooftop solar to install batteries.

Transcript

00:00 Roughly one million homes across NSW can generate electricity from the sun. Energy that isn't

00:07 used can be stored in batteries attached to solar panel systems. These batteries can help

00:13 people get the most out of their solar panels as well as boost the reliability of the state-wide

00:18 grid. But the NSW Government says the uptake of batteries, which is at about 20% for homes

00:24 with solar panels, can be much improved. That's why it's today announced a new incentive under

00:31 its Peak Demand Reduction Scheme. This discount can also be considered for homes wishing to

00:36 install a new solar or battery system. And there's also up to $400 for connecting a battery

00:42 to a virtual power plant, which groups power produced from rooftop solar and batteries

00:48 to be used in the grid only when it's needed. This is a cost of living measure that helps

00:53 them deal with energy prices. But for NSW as a whole, these kind of systems are setting

00:59 us up for the future where we can manage price spikes. The people who will be exporting their

01:06 energy into the grid at times of peak demand, when it's really, really hot and we need as

01:11 much energy as possible, they'll get paid for that. But importantly, they'll help the

01:15 cost of electricity for everyone else across the grid. I'm here at Arndale Park in Sydney's

01:20 West, the home of Blacktown's Reposit Power. It's facilities like this one that distribute

01:25 household batteries. Today's announcement comes just one day after Origin and the state

01:30 government signed a deal which allows Araring Power Station at Lake Macquarie to stay open

01:36 for another two years past its original 2025 closure. Under the agreement, the state government

01:43 would not make upfront payments to Origin, but would cover losses of up to $225 million

01:49 a year. The announcement has been met with mixed reaction. Minister Sharpe said Araring

01:54 would not impact the state government's emission reduction targets for 2030, but admitted that

01:59 there needs to be more renewable energy in the system to meet those targets. Full detail

02:04 of the agreement between Origin and the state government will be tabled in NSW Parliament's

02:09 next sitting. Households can access these new solar and battery incentives from November 1.

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