Great news for NSW residents, according to Benjamin Franklin, NSW parliamentary secretary for Energy, a new interest-free loans program to increase household investment in solar and storage is underway. During the Australian Energy Storage conference last month, the secretary for energy hinted at government plans of introducing the ‘Empowering Homes’ initiative.
The program hopes in the next 10 years to support the installation of 300,000 solar-battery systems in NSW, providing interest free loans to eligible residents for the installation of battery and solar-battery systems. These interest-free loans are up to $9000 for a battery system and $14,000 for solar-battery system. However, the program requirements are subject to annual household income, with owner-occupiers having an annual income of $180,000 as well as normal loan assessment requirements.
“This program will provide interest-free loans for owner-occupiers who want to install a battery or solar battery system in their home” Franklin stated.
“A new solar battery system could save a home hundreds, if not thousands of dollars a year in their electricity bill and importantly more storage will enable greater penetration of renewables in the grid, which reduces prices for everyone. The program aims to unlock up to $3.2 billion in clean energy investment over the life of the program supporting up to 3000MWh of storage into the NSW energy system when complete.” The Secretary for Energy announced.
However, he was unable to provide any more details on the program but hopes to be able to deliver more information soon. It has been suggested that the first battery or solar-battery systems will be available for installation towards the end of the year, in summer 2019/2020.
At Sure Solar we will keep you updated on the latest news and updates on the possible interest-free loans for solar panels and batteries in NSW. If you would like to register your interest in Empowering houses initiative you can also visit the NSW Department of Planning and Environment website here and fill out your details in the form below.
