Hundreds of homes to convert to renewables
Rachel Mealey: Re-wiring Australian homes to run off renewable electricity and cut emissions is a big project, but in one New South Wales postcode, dozens of houses have already been switched over. A pilot program in northern Illawarra has so far seen 60 homes converted to run entirely on renewable energy, with the aim of every home in the region changing over. Experts say the grid can handle the added load, but it's not cheap to get started. Joanna Crothers reports.
Joanna Crothers: Tosca Lloyd and her family have had their eyes on converting their Wollongong home to run off renewables for several years.
Tosca Lloyd: I think the climate impacts of coal and gas is the primary motivator for us and our family.
Joanna Crothers: Her family is one of the lucky few to benefit from the Electrify 2515 pilot program, which is aiming to convert 500 homes in the 2515 postcode to run entirely off renewable energy. 60 homes in the New South Wales Illawarra postcode have already been converted, with a further 440 signed up to the program. But those homeowners are looking at a fairly steep bill.
Tosca Lloyd: So we got a really big solar system, quite a large battery, induction, ducted heating for our whole house and an electric heat pump. We also had a bunch of rewiring done. All of that cost around $40,000, but we only ended up being out of pocket around $32,000.
Joanna Crothers: The Federal Government is subsidising the pilot as part of Australia's push to reach net zero by 2050. Almost $5.5 million has been given to the program so far by Australia's Renewable Energy Agency. Rewiring Australia founder and chief scientist Dr Saul Griffith says he wants to prove that it's possible to convert millions of homes off gas.
Saul Griffith: So we know that 11 million Australian households have got to get to zero emissions by probably 2040. We thought we'd try to really accelerate what that looks like in one community.
Joanna Crothers: Professor Tania Urmee works in Murdoch University's School of Engineering and Energy in WA. She agrees that the program can work without crippling power grids, but says getting everybody on board with such big changes will be the biggest challenge.
Tania Urmee: It's not an easy thing. We need to look at social issues like energy equity issues. You are setting up whole new ideas into a real practice. The whole energy generation needs to start from home. If that social learning happens, then it is good.
Joanna Crothers: The Illawarra region, with the city of Wollongong and Port Kembla, has become a hub for renewable development both domestically and in industry. Dr Griffith says he's hopeful the scheme will eventually become affordable for low-income households too.
Saul Griffith: So we've incentivised the program with small subsidies. They're larger for the lower-income households. They're lower for the top-income households.
Joanna Crothers: Australia's Renewable Energy Agency has confirmed it's also funding a home electrification pilot for 500 homes in South Australia.
Rachel Mealey: Joanna Crothers there with additional reporting by Nicholas McLaren and Brooke Chandler.
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