Interest in battery storage is high at the moment, based on enquiries we are seeing through the MASH solar bulk-buy. It is driven by a desire to become more independent from electricity retailers and the mains grid, protection from power outages and also to cut power bills.
Battery rebate currently up to $4838 – but will drop from 1st July 2020
The good news is that the Victorian Government is supporting the uptake of battery storage with a generous rebate – worth up to $4,838 – through its Solar Homes program (available up to 30 June 2020; after this date the maximum value of the rebate will drop to $4,174). For the 2019/2020 financial year, up to 1,000 battery rebates are available to owner-occupied households in an increasing number of postcode areas. Fortunately, new postcodes in Mount Alexander Shire, Bendigo and the Macedon Ranges Shire were recently added to the ‘eligible’ list, driving up demand for battery storage in our area.
Eligible postcode areas
Eligible postcodes include most of the Macedon Ranges Shire – except for Macedon (3440) – Mount Alexander Shire – except for Maldon/Baringup (3463), Sutton Grange/Metcalfe (3448) and Newstead/Welshmans Reef (3462) and most of the City of Greater Bendigo. (For a full list of eligible postcodes visit Solar Victoria’s website).
A couple of people from Metcalfe have asked, ‘Why have we been excluded?’. The Solar Victoria website that for a postcode to be eligible it must be a high growth suburb and have high solar PV penetration. My guess is they couldn’t extend the rebate to all regions at once and will continue to rollout to more postcodes over the coming months and years.
What impact does the rebate have on the out-of-pocket cost of a Powerwall 2?
What impact does the battery rebate have on the price of a battery through the MASH bulk-buy?
It brings down the price of the Tesla Powerwall 2 battery (arguably one of the most popular and powerful residential home battery systems) to $9,990. To be eligible*, you need to have at least 5kW of solar panels and for the property not to already have received a rebate through the Solar Homes program. You can install 5kW of solar panels and then install a battery as part of the same order however you’d only be able to apply for either the solar panels rebate (up to $1,888) or the battery rebate (up to $4,838) – not both.
The Tesla Powerwall 2 is warrantied for 10 years. The payback for most households is at least 10 years – sometimes longer. So why get one?
A big reason is to increase the property’s resilience to power outages; particularly true if you are running systems at your home that you don’t want compromised by a blackout. One example was a homeowner in Glenlyon who wanted a Powerwall to run his water pumps in order to keep his home protected from bushfires if the power went out. Another reason is as a way of overcoming export limitations imposed by the network distributor.
For anyone interested in learning more about battery rebates and the Tesla Powerwall 2, register for our next online meeting on Thursday 28 May from 5pm-6pm. Visit mash.org.au to register or request a quote. Alternatively call 1300 466 274.
*Visit solar.vic.gov.au for eligibility criteria.