A South Australian company will launch the country’s first 100 per cent renewable energy utility company, with the author of the 2008 Climate Change Review signalling his support.
Professor Ross Garnaut has been appointed chairman of Zen Energy and said the company’s launch would be a game changer.
“I’ve been disappointed the established energy companies have not taken the opportunity that’s there,” he told
ABC News.
The company will use a combination of solar power generation, battery storage, and localised energy grids to create self-sustained communities that will buy back the power they generate.
For years, Zen Energy has been putting battery units in people’s homes. Now its chief executive Richard Turner plans to take entire communities off the grid – from social housing stock, to apartment buildings and regional communities.
He said he will generate the power, then sell it back to users at a fraction of the current costs.
“We’re looking at a spot in the market very soon where we’re going to be almost half the cost of the grid,” he said, as reported by ABC News.
