A deal between the federal government and crossbench senators David Pocock, David Van, Jacqui Lambie and Lidia Thorpe will see ARENA fund world-leading community electrification pilots nationwide to reduce energy bills and improve social licence for clean energy.
ARENA will call for innovative electrification projects with clear community benefits, with funding decisions will be independent of government.
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Rewiring Australia co-founder and chief scientist Dr Saul Griffith said the community pilot model pioneered in 2515 was world-leading and would help households reduce bills and get greater control over their energy costs.
“The Australian government is creating a cheaper, safer energy path for the world through this R&D program. Community pilots are a world-leading approach to technology development because they broaden the focus from just the appliances or solar panels to the whole social system around them,” he said.
“Rural, regional and suburban households have the most to gain from electrification but more research is needed to understand how to make it easy and affordable for everyone. Electrification is the quickest and cheapest way to quit expensive fossil fuels and slash energy bills. These pilots deliver rich insights into how consumers and tradies use and install technologies.
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“If Australia wants to lead the world we need to understand consumers and installer sentiment and purchasing decisions, shape local government and energy regulatory policies and practices and create new business models to deliver the change.
“The barriers we need to break down are technical challenges to electrifying and sharing energy with apartments and rentals, households in remote and disadvantaged areas,” Dr Griffith said.
