Labor Helps Solar Battery Push with $ 200 Million Dedication – channelnews – ChannelNews

Residential solar panels are no longer just a fad. New figures show that every fifth house now generates its own electricity from solar panels.

However, only one in 13 has taken the next step and installed batteries to store electricity generated during the day for the night.

Cost is often cited as a reason for the delay. Typical home battery systems cost between $ 8,000 and $ 15,000, but opposition leader Anthony Albanese is promoting a possible solution.

He said over the weekend that a future Labor government would invest $ 200 million in community batteries that can store energy generated by up to hundreds of households.

Albo said the community batteries would allow those with solar panels to get the full benefit of their investment without the upfront cost of installing their own battery system.

Recent research, cited in a report from the McKell Institute, shows that community batteries at 500 kWh, which can support up to 250 households, are currently the most viable.

Combined with a separate study from the Australian National University, Boffins suggest that each community battery would cost around $ 500,000. Experiments with community batteries are ongoing across the country.