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The Greens want to offer Australians grants of up to $10,000 and loans of $50,000 to install solar batteries.
Key points:
- The Greens have a $17 billion plan to help households and businesses transition from gas to clean energy
- They will announce the plan in Brisbane as part of their 2022 federal election campaign launch
- Climate change is one of the most important issues to Australians this election, according to Vote Compass
It's part of a $17 billion plan to help households and businesses transition from gas to clean energy, announced as part of their federal election campaign.
The Greens are unveiling the plan in Brisbane during the second week of the federal election campaign, where they are targeting a handful of inner-city seats held by the Coalition and Labor.
Debate over energy prices have featured early in the campaign, with the Coalition claiming Labor's "Re-Wiring the Nation" policy would push up household energy prices.
The Labor plan would upgrade electricity infrastructure to accommodate the influx of renewable energy with a combined investment of $20 billion from the Commonwealth and more than $50 billion from the sector.
Under the plan by the Greens, home and business owners would also be able to apply for grants of up to $25,000 and loans of up to $100,000 to move away from gas power to electricity.
The party said the subsidies were aimed at supporting investment in the local battery-manufacturing industry.
Batteries can help solar users store energy to use during peak periods, allowing them to save money on electricity prices.
One in five Australians have solar panels, and battery usage is increasing.
However, batteries are expensive: A 13kWh battery — the average Australian household uses around 18kWh per day — can cost $12,000 or more.
Meanwhile, states are moving to gain more control over rooftop solar panels as increasing installations threaten to overload the grid at certain times.
Western Australia in February joined South Australia in having the authority to turn off household solar systems at times when the electricity network is deemed to be under severe stress.
The Greens say their plan has been costed by the Parliamentary Budget Office.
And the party points to a report by the Climate Council, published last year, that estimated cooking with gas was responsible for around 12 per cent of the "burden of childhood asthma" and was comparable to household cigarette smoke.
Greens Leader Adam Bandt said the scheme aimed to cut power bills and to reduce pollution.
"Just as we've seen solar panels go on so many roofs around the country because government support makes them affordable, we want to do the same with batteries," Mr Bandt said.
"Electricity is an essential service and it shouldn’t be run for profit."
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The Greens have also proposed a publicly owned, non-profit electricity retailer, the repurposed retail division of Snowy Hydro, Power Australia, to supply businesses power at cost price.
It said the move would aim to promote competition in the energy sector, driving down the costs of private energy providers.
Climate change — along with the cost of living and the economy — are some of the most important issues to Australians this election, according to Vote Compass.
More Australians mentioned climate change as their number one issue than any other topic, with 29 per cent of people saying it was important.
But there's a large split along party voting lines when it comes to climate change being the top issue. That was held by only 8 per cent of Coalition voters, compared to 30 per cent of Labor voters and 50 per cent of people who are likely to vote for The Green.
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