Labor leader Bill Shorten promises $2,000 rebates for households to install solar storage batteries

Labor leader Bill Shorten has declared taxpayers will be funding $2,000 rebates for homes that installed solar batteries as part of a ‘renewables revolution’. 

His party has an ambitious plan for 30 per cent of Australia’s energy to come from renewable sources by 2030, despite evidence linking green schemes with higher power bills. 

Despite parts of Australia already having the world’s highest power prices, the Opposition Leader declared Labor would push on with generous green subsidies for 100,000 households earning up to $180,000 a year were it to win next year’s election.

‘It’s about time we had a renewables revolution,’ he told the Nine Network’s Today show on Thursday morning.

Labor leader Bill Shorten has declared taxpayers will be funding $2,000 rebates for homes that installed solar batteries (like this Tesla unit pictured) as part of a ‘renewables revolution’

‘We’re proposing to make it easier for households to buy solar power batteries.’  

Labor is proposing to provide the $2,000 rebates at a cost of $140.9 million over three years, as part of a broader plan to have one million more households using solar battery systems by 2025.

Mr Shorten said that with 1.8 million Australian households already having solar panels, his renewable energy plan would ‘make it easier to get the batteries so you can store that energy and be able to use it at night time’.

Climate change policy since 2007 has hurt consumers, with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission revealing in July electricity prices had soared by 56 per cent during the past decade.

The Opposition Leader (pictured) declared Labor would push on with a generous green subsidies for 100,000 households earning up to $180,000 a year were it to win the election

The Opposition Leader (pictured) declared Labor would push on with a generous green subsidies for 100,000 households earning up to $180,000 a year were it to win the election

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission revealing power prices had soared by 56 per cent during the past decade (IBIS World graph pictured)

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission revealing power prices had soared by 56 per cent during the past decade (IBIS World graph pictured)

This has seen households pay an extra $538 a year in bills to fund green schemes.

Generous solar panel subsidies and the ‘gold plating’ of transmission networks by privatised electricity companies to prevent blackouts have resulted in Australian consumers paying some of the world’s highest power prices.  

Even before Mr Shorten unveiled its solar rooftops policy, Energy Minister Angus Taylor warned that Labor’s pledge to slash emissions by 45 per cent by 2030 was a recipe for higher household bills.

‘The one thing that I know about a target like that is that Australians will pay more for electricity and you won’t be able to trust Bill Shorten to keep the lights on,’ he told Sky News on Monday.

Mr Shorten said that with 1.8 million Australian households already having solar panels (like the ones pictured), his renewable energy plan would 'make it easier' to store power at night

Mr Shorten said that with 1.8 million Australian households already having solar panels (like the ones pictured), his renewable energy plan would ‘make it easier’ to store power at night

Labor has also promised to revive the National Energy Guarantee which former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull had advocated, only for right-wing Liberal MPs to use it as an excuse to destabilise his leadership.

Mr Shorten claimed Labor was more in tune with public sentiment on tackling climate change than the government.

‘Renewable energy and climate change, where the Australian people are so far ahead of Australian politicians it’s not funny,’ he said.

Energy Minister Angus Taylor (pictured) warned that Labor's pledge to slash emissions by 45 per cent by 2030 was a recipe for higher household bills

Energy Minister Angus Taylor (pictured) warned that Labor’s pledge to slash emissions by 45 per cent by 2030 was a recipe for higher household bills

‘We form a government, that’s the first step of the change, we want to work with families and businesses to get their power prices down.’ 

The batteries, linked to renewable energy sources such as solar panels, would reduce power costs for households.

Labor’s energy spokesman Mark Butler said the plan would help ease pressure on the electricity grid during peak times.

‘It’s great for individual households but beyond that, to be able to shift energy from the middle of the day to the early evening is going to be fantastic for the whole energy system,’ he told ABC Radio on Thursday.

The Smart Energy Council estimates new household battery systems, linked to solar panels, would help homes save more than 60 per cent on their power bills.

But they would also drop costs for other Australians by reducing peak demand in the electricity grid and help improve the grid’s reliability.

Labor says its rebates would help battery manufacturers scale up production and reduce their costs, which would aid its goal of reaching one million homes with battery systems in seven years time.

It would also spend an extra $10 million over four years on ramping up the Clean Energy Regulator’s battery auditing and inspecting regime, with another $10 million going to training clean energy workers.

Spending $100 million on a program allowing renters and social housing residents to benefit from cheaper, renewable energy, is also on Labor’s agenda.

The funds would go towards community power hubs, such as solar gardens on apartment rooftops or community wind farms. 

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