Victorian MP Rails Against Solar Battery Rebate Inequity

Image: Solar Victoria

Member for Murray Plains Peter Walsh wants to know why constituents in his electorate are unable to access the Andrews Government’s solar battery rebate.

Victoria’s battery rebate, part of the Solar Homes rebate program, was worth up to $4,838 (it will be reduced to $4,174 from July 1). The 1,000 rebates available for the 2019/20 financial year have been spoken for, but another 500 will be available from July. The subsidy won’t be available in all parts of Victoria – the current list of eligible postcodes can be found here (note: other postcodes may become eligible over time).

An area currently missing out on the rebate is the electoral district of Murray Plains according to Mr. Walsh. Murray Plains is a rural electorate located north and north-west of Melbourne with a population of around 65,500.

“There is outrage in my electorate from people who have contacted me about every single person in an Opposition held seat being excluded from a 10-year rebate program,” said Mr. Walsh. “They want to know why, again, this is the case,” he said.

Solar Uptake In Murray Plains

One of the Victorian Government’s criteria for selecting eligible postcodes is high uptake of solar panels. Let’s take a look at several major population centres in the Murray Plains electorate – click on the links for further information about solar power in each of the postcode areas.

• Kyabram (postcode: 3620): ~35 systems per 100 dwellings
• Echuca (postcode: 3564): ~34 systems per 100 dwellings
• Swan Hill (postcode: 3585): ~27 systems per 100 dwellings

.. so the high uptake box is ticked. But another element of the state government’s criteria is high population growth. On that point, Mr. Walsh says:

“Whether we also fit the population growth is another matter; but our population would have more chance of growth if we had access to the same opportunities as the people in Melbourne and surrounds. Such as rebates for solar batteries.”

Solar batteries accelerating population growth is a bit of a stretch, but the general sentiment is understood.

Just Because You Can, It Doesn’t Mean You Should

As mentioned, the eligible postcode list isn’t set in stone – more postcodes may be added and have been added in the past. But regardless of whether a rebate is available in a particular postcode or not, solar households should crunch the numbers when considering energy storage. SQ’s solar and battery calculator can be used for this – just subtract the rebate amount from the cost of the battery indicated.

Using a rebate-adjusted price for a Tesla Powerwall and other calculator settings left to default, it works out simple payback on a Tesla Powerwall 2 installed in Swan Hill is around 49 years – and the warranty for the battery is 10 years. Meanwhile, the simple payback on a 6.6kW solar system installed in Swan Hill is just 3 years and 3 months thanks to the national solar subsidy and Victoria’s solar panel rebate, which is available across the state.

The cost and lengthy payback of batteries, even with subsidies, is a major reason why forecasts for battery uptake in Australia have been so wrong.