Australian households to be offered daily free solar electricity under gov't scheme
Australian households will be able to access at least three hours of free solar electricity per day from 2026 under a government initiative announced on Tuesday, Xinhua reports.
Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen said in a statement that the solar sharer scheme will require electricity retailers to offer free power to homes for at least three hours in the middle of each day when solar generation is at its peak and often exceeds demand.
The scheme will be rolled out to households in the east coast states of New South Wales and Queensland as well as South Australia from July 2026 before possible extension to other jurisdictions by 2027.
Bowen said that the offer would encourage Australians to utilize more solar power when it is abundant, and lower costs for the electricity system as a whole by reducing use at peak demand periods in the evening.
"People who are able to move electricity use into the zero cost power period will benefit directly, whether they have solar panels or not and whether they own or rent, and the more people take up the offer and move their use, the greater the system benefits that lower costs for all electricity users will be," he said.
There are more than four million rooftop solar systems installed across Australia with a combined generation capacity exceeding the country's remaining fleet of coal-fired power stations, Bowen said.
To note, China Energy to invest $1bn in building solar and wind power plants in Kazakhstan.
