Up to 60 Canberra households will be offered solar batteries at discounted rates under the ACT Government’s Next Generation Energy Storage Pilot program.
The systems use Tesla Powerwall or LG RESU residential solar batteries as a base, fitted with controls developed by local company Reposit Power.
The technology allows home owners to sell the power they generate on the wholesale electricity market, which Reposit chief executive Dean Spaccavento said will lower power bills and help stabilise the Territory’s electricity system.
“Our battery control learns a household’s electricity usage patterns, gathers weather predictions and monitors the market to help drive down power bills,” he said.
ActewAGL, one of the first Australian energy retailers to move into residential battery storage when it launched a trial in partnership with Panasonic last year, will play a key role in the trial.
General manager retail Ayesha Razzaq congratulated the ACT Government on driving the take up of emerging energy technologies saying it will be a game-changer for household energy usage in the ACT.
“The program will drive awareness of the technology and provides customers with yet another way to take control of their energy usage,” she said.
“With the ACT Government subsidy, customers can add a battery to an ActewAGL solar system starting from $4990. From there, a typical Canberra household could save over 60% on their electricity bill”.
The ACT Government will contribute approximately $3000 toward each system. Applicants don’t need to already have solar panels installed and can receive up to $4000 in Federal Government assistance to put panels on their property.