Survey Results – Home Solar Battery Interest In Queensland

Image: LG Chem

The latest annual Queensland Household Energy Survey indicates while many QLD solar households may be interested in buying a home battery, that purchase could still be a while off.

Initial results released from the QHES state nearly a third of solar households are interested in installing solar batteries – sometime over the next decade.

“Queenslanders embrace renewable energy, with one in three Queensland homes having rooftop solar panels,” said Queensland Energy Minister Dr Anthony Lynham. “Battery storage is the next wave, and clearly Queenslanders plan to continue to stay on that wave to cut their power bills and their emissions.”

That next wave may still be well out to sea. 10 years a rather long timeframe and it’s not clear yet¹ if there’s any further breakdown as to how many are considering a battery when within that period.

The results are being used to promote the Queensland Government’s interest-free loans and grants to install rooftop solar power and battery storage systems. According to the release “more than 2500” Queensland households have been approved for the QLD Government Affordable Energy Plan initiative. It’s important to note that an approval may not necessarily result in installation.

The scheme, which launched last November, originally offered grants of $3,000 and interest-free loans of up to $10,000 for 1,000 combined solar and battery storage systems; plus grants of $3,000 and interest-free loans of up to $6,000 for 500 battery systems. It was then extended to cover 2,500 packages across both aspects – so according to Minister Lynham’s comments the scheme may be nearly done. By early February, 2,150 applications had been lodged.

Energex/Ergon parent company Energy Queensland and Powerlink Queensland commission the QHES survey, which assists in planning for future energy needs in the state. 5,000 people are asked about their home energy usage and plans for their future energy use.

“The installation of battery storage is expected to ramp up once prices fall below $10,000 for an entry level system, which respondents highlighted as a financial tipping point for them to consider the technology,” said Powerlink Chief Executive Merryn York.

What the capacity of an “entry level system” is wasn’t defined, but there are largish batteries such as the LG Chem RESU 10 (9.8kWh nominal storage/8.8kWh usable) that can purchased for around the $7.6k mark – but that doesn’t include installation or an inverter changeover if required. For the Tesla Powerwall 2 (13.5 kWh usable capacity), the cost is around $12,350 before installation². Back in January, SQ’s Ronald estimated the fully installed cost of Powerwall 2 at around $15,300³.

Interest In Electric Cars Growing

According to the QLD government, more than 2,100 electric vehicles are expected to be registered in Queensland late this year.

“Over the past two years interest in buying an electric vehicle has increased by nine per cent with respondents saying they would consider moving away from petrol vehicles once they have a charge range closer to 500km and the purchase price drops below $50,000,” states the release.

For potential or current solar power system owners considering an electric car purchase, check out SQ’s Homeowner’s Guide To Solar And Electric Cars.