Northern Territory Extends Home And Business Battery Scheme

The NT’s Gunner government is pumping more cash into a scheme assisting Territorians to install solar + battery systems and retrofit energy storage.

The Home and Business Battery Scheme provides $6000 grants to either:

• Purchase and install a solar power system with an eligible battery or inverter, or
• Buy and install an eligible battery and inverter for an existing solar system.

The minimum capacity for eligible solar batteries is 7 kilowatt-hours.

According to the NT Government, more than 700 Territory households and businesses have applied for the grant so far, with more than 510 applications approved.

A further $2.8 million has been allocated in Budget 2021 to extend the scheme, so that translates to another 460+ grants.

“We want Territorians to have access to the latest and best technology as we build a stronger and more resilient power system for Territory households and businesses,” said NT Minister for Renewables and Energy, Eva Lawler

More information on the Northern Territory’s Home and Battery Business Scheme can be found here.

Scheme Dampens Solar Uptake?

While the Gunner government is celebrating what it sees as the success of the scheme, the way it has gone about it appears to have had a nasty side effect.

The Home and Battery Business Scheme has been funded by a cut to the NT solar feed in tariff, which was announced in April last year. The following figures indicate solar installations in the Northern Territory for a few months prior to and following that announcement.

• January 2020 – 275
• February 2020 – 335
• March 2020 – 296
• April 2020 – 292
• May 2020 – 369
• June 2020 – 326
• July  2020 – 264
• August  2020 – 203
• September  2020 – 238
• October 2020 – 192
• November 2020 – 203
• December 2020 – 165
• January 2021 – 60
• February 2021 – 116

This information was sourced from the Clean Energy Regulator and the figures are approximations – installation numbers, particularly for the more recent months, will increase due to the way the data is collected.

After the initial rush to get systems over the line for the previous FiT rate, it would seem funding batteries by cutting the NT solar feed-in tariff has resulted in a dampening effect on solar power uptake.

In the minds of some prospective solar buyers, the feed-in tariff reduction meant installing solar panels wasn’t worth it any more. It still certainly pays to go solar in the Northern Territory even though payback is extended, and maximising self-consumption of solar energy can accelerate payback time.

If you’re considering installing a solar power system and/or a battery; use SolarQuotes’ solar and battery calculator to gauge your estimated savings and payback. The calculator results will show you the financial benefits of the two elements combined and separately, or you can choose to base calculations on solar-only. You can also adjust the self-consumption percentage on the results page to see the difference it makes to estimated simple payback time.

Also check out our list of solar installers in Darwin if you plan to proceed with an installation, which includes some businesses that service other areas within the Northern Territory.