Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee [Part 2], , 7:59 to 21:23
Officials provide data on the uptake of the cheaper home battery program and the record-breaking rollout of rooftop solar across Australia.
Topics: Energy storage, Renewable energy, Electricity grid
Speakers: Carl Binning, Hon Carol Brown, Tony Chappel, Mr. Tony Chappel
>> Thank you, Senator Bragg. Senator Bragg. >> Uh thanks, thanks, Chair. Um I'd like to ask some questions about the home battery program. I just if you want to give me um some information and about how that program's going in terms of uptake, that'd be good. The cheaper home battery program.
>> Uh thank you, [clears throat] Senator. I think the latest um data I've seen shows about 570 um 587 I think,000 batteries now that have been installed through the program.
>> I didn't quite catch.
>> Sorry. 500 said, >> Mr. 587,000 uh batteries is the the latest data that I have to hand that have been
>> so when did it remind me when it
>> Uh the scheme I think started around July last year but I might hand to my colleague Mr. Bin who um has been stewarding the scheme from its inception.
>> Okay. Thank you Mr. B.
>> Thank you Senator. So the program uh was open for applications from the 1st of July uh last year.
And can you give me some more information about the uptake? There's 587,000. still going strong or what's happening?
>> Yeah, so 58 uh7,000 uh batteries uh Senator and uh we're running at a rate of about uh 8,000 applications uh per um that um demand has uh remained sort of fairly steady since the adjustment to the incentive uh was made uh on the 1st of May. Collectively across the 587,000 batteries, there's been 60 16.4 gwatt hours of capacity added to the distributed uh system. >> Um and we are starting to see the impact of that uh storage uh in the marketplace. So uh we've seen as uh reported by EMO and AMO and others uh that the price the wholesale price at the end of the day in the peak period uh has uh begun uh to uh decline significantly and that is a result of the combined effort of uh both domestic uh storage that 16.4 GW and the utility storage which is enabling sun to be captured in the middle of the day. um and then redistributed through battery storage uh to the end of the day where there is peak demand.
um a B are battery installations helping consumers who do not install batteries?
>> Uh so Senator I I would most certainly say yes uh both uh in the near term uh and uh in the in the longer term. uh in the near term what we are seeing is a significant reduction in those wholesale prices uh towards the end of the day and um we along with others are very uh keenly watching to see uh those uh reductions in price be passed through uh to consumers uh in the longer term uh what battery storage does is it allows us to fully utilize the distribution uh networks that we have. So in simple terms that's the poles and wires uh that we have in and around our houses and those systems can very quickly become uh overloaded and if those systems uh become overloaded then more capital uh is needed to be invested by our distribution network uh service providers. Now what battery storage does it enables us to use that existing suite of assets more effectively. Uh that's going to be incredibly important because as households electrify, they also consume more electricity. So they uh switch um for example their hot water system from a gas to an electric um uh pump uh system. And of course we're starting to see very significant uptake of um electric vehicles. All of which is seeing a significant uplift in overall demand. uh we need to make sure that that lift in demand from our households can actually be supported by the whole grid. Why this is important uh to the whole uh community and all households is if we have to build more infrastructure within our distribution systems those costs are passed through uh the retail system to households. So wherever we can avoid capital costs there is a benefit uh to all households.
Thank you. Thank you for that response. So how so how is the solar roll out going across the country?
>> Um so the solar roll out is is also going uh very well.
>> I'm assuming that the the battery program has helped drive the uptake of u rooftop solar as well.
>> Uh yep. If you just bear with me for one moment. Um so year to date as of the 30th of uh September um we had uh 2.8 uh gaw um of solar installed. Um and that rate um is on track uh to be a record year. And what we're seeing is with the advent of the cheaper home batteries program, households are doing two things. Uh the first is they're installing uh larger systems. >> And so typically four or five years ago, a system would have been in the order of uh 5 to six uh kilow. A typical system is now above uh 10 uh kilow. And so uh same number of households but more capacity. Um second thing is we're seeing an increasing number of households uh about 25% of installations uh from households that are replacing uh one of the original uh solar systems. >> These systems would typically have been very small. They might have been uh had secured a significant feed in tariff. >> Yeah. um uh that was very common at the time when uh these schemes first started. That feeding tariff has now sunseted or stopped >> and so they're choosing to move from say a 2 2 1/2 kow system to a 10 to 15 kow system with storage.
>> All right. Okay. Thank you. So what system do you have in place to ensure compliance with scheme requirements and have you updated requirements to ensure better outcomes on issues such as
We have very extensive uh systems to address those risks and frankly it's been a major focus for myself in the last few weeks coming on board to understand how the regulator has considered and sought to address the risks. Of course, um the uh there's a an inspection program that's required to be a statistically significant uh number of uh systems inspected, but um safety and consumer uh regulations also apply both at um state and territory level and then um through Commonwealth consumer protections. Um would you like to talk in some detail, Mr. Binning, about the way we're addressing those risks?
>> Yeah. So, thank you, Senator. So um the first thing I'd say is that the cheaper home batteries program leverages the infrastructure that is in play in in place uh for more than 10 years under the renewable uh energy target and there are two absolutely uh core controls uh to ensure that the system uh is safe. Um so that is firstly the product listing process which is done through the clean energy council. What that does is ensure that any batteries that are brought into the country uh comply um with international standards um and that ensures that they have very specific protections in place. So that prevent overheating uh or prevent thermal runaway within the battery unit. Um, and in the time that we've been uh running the program, more than 580,000 batteries, we have not had a single event that's directly associated with a battery. >> Right. >> We have had one fire uh that has been uh associated with a wiring issue in Western Australia that was thor thoroughly investigated and um shown not to represent a systemic risk. This really stands in very sharp contrast to other lithium ion devices. So I'm talking about scooters, vacuum cleaners, uh electric drills, other power tools. Um they are quite often uh associated with fires. >> Uh Queensland 300 fires in um 25 26. Uh New South Wales, the latest data we have is 323 in 2024. and growing. And the reason for this is that the standards are not as strong and that people will often make an error in the management of that device and the charging of it. In simple terms, they plug it into the wrong charger, it overheats, it catches fire. And so we're very comfortable that the products are safe. The second control um is associated with that all installers uh must be accredited. Um, and to be accredited, they must have done training >> and had that added to their electrical license. >> And this means that they understand uh how to do it properly. And then finally, we've been doing additional testing of batteries, um, which is essentially buying them off the shelf. We've been sending them to the University of Queensland to be tested. Um finally through our inspections program 4 and a half thousand inspections uh have now been uh completed and we have seen um very low rates of unsafe installation. So those rates are less than 1%. We met with our state and territory colleagues electrical regulators and they are very comfortable um with uh that core statistic.
>> So those inspections that you're talking about they're all across every state and territory.
>> Yep. So our task is to undertake a statistically um representative sample >> that's across both the numbers and also across the geographic distribution.
Yeah.
>> So it is across all states and territories. >> What we're seeing though in in that inspection program is um that we are got higher rates of non-compliance with some of the uh very detailed technical requirements. And Senator, you asked about labeling. Yeah. >> So, labeling is the most common uh technical non-compliance that we're observing. I would emphasize that in the vast majority of cases, labels are in place. They haven't just been placed in precisely the right location or have precisely the right wording uh associated with them. >> Yeah. >> To address that, we've been running an education program through Industry Networks, Solar Accreditation Australia, the Smart Energy Council, the Clean Energy Council, etc. We've introduced a new control which requires people to lodge photographs with us around the labeling requirements. And finally, in the last few weeks, based on advice from the um industry um uh advisory implementation committee for the program, which is a cross-section of industry players, I've written uh to the state and um territory electrical regulators seeking a review of the labeling requirements. There are uh up to I think about a dozen different labels that are required. Yeah, >> it's very complex. Uh the feedback we're getting from industry is that it is extraordinarily difficult to comply with. We are also getting feedback that it's not leading to a safer outcome and it's not informing households. And so we've written seeking a review of that process. In no way do we want to compromise uh but we do want simple clear uh warnings uh provided to industry. So what I would say just in summary uh Senator is um we're very confident uh in our systems but we in no way are complacent. Um the protection of households safety and consumer protection are our highest priorities. We run assurance programs so that we can identify issues and we can continuously improve and the labeling is a very good example of that where we are working very hard with the industry to lift their performance and at the same time we're seeking to simplify uh the requirements so that we get better outcomes for households.