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The rebate would only apply to people with rooftop solar, meaning people living in an apartment and renters could miss out. Buckley said he would like to see this revised and caveats put in place for apartment blocks, so that those households aren’t left behind. “I would hope this is just the next iteration of a number of policies to make sure we deal with apartment dwellers,” he said. “There could be split incentives for renters and landlords, and policies to deal with council regulations and strata titles.” Read more

n the lead-up to Australia’s election, the cost of living crisis remains a key issue. Labor has proposed a 30% subsidy on household batteries linked to solar energy, which could save individuals over $1,000 annually on electricity bills. However, some homes, especially apartments, may not benefit due to limitations in installing solar systems. Read more

If Labor wins the next election, it promises a 30% subsidy on home batteries, capped at one battery per household, with the subsidy renewed yearly. Tim Buckley, director of Climate Energy Finance, supports the plan, noting that it could reduce battery costs, which can exceed $10,000, by around $3,000, benefiting households with significant savings. Read more

CEF observes continued price deflation in solar PV and batteries – prices dropped 20% for batteries, and Chinese panels plummeted by 37 to 46% in 2024. This cost reduction has turbocharged deployment rates, with almost 600GW of solar PV installed in 2024. Assuming continued growth in China deployments, 700GW this year seems likely, and CEF projects this will rise to 1,000GW per annum by 2030. BESS installation rates are expected to treble in this timeframe. With solar modules and battery manufacturing capacity at three times the current global installations, expectations of plateauing installations are entirely unlikely. Read more

Battery storage can turn record-high instances of negative spot pricing in Australia’s National Electricity Market (NEM) into investment opportunities. That was the view expressed by various panellists and sources at the Energy Storage Summit Australia 2025 in Sydney this week. Tim Buckley, founder and director of the think tank Climate Energy Finance, got the ball rolling on Day One yesterday, flipping traditional views on negative pricing events in describing them as “an advantage.” Australia has “world-leading negative pricing in wholesale markets,” Buckley said, noting that in the states of Victoria and South Australia, negative pricing was experienced for 24% and 26% of last year, roughly four times higher than experienced in European power markets. Read more