Alastair Matcott, from Green Energy Trading, worked on an advocacy project that provided free energy audits and free renewable energy upgrades for private renters and investors. But it failed because they were completely stonewalled by every real estate company and industry body they encountered. It’s left Alastair thinking the only way to deal with the split incentive between landlords and tenants is to mandate minimum energy standards for rental homes.
Dec 06, 2024•30 min
It’s estimated the healthcare industry contributes around 7% of Australia’s carbon emissions, with hospitals being the biggest carbon emitters in the sector. Hospitals run 24/7 energy-intensive operations for heating, cooling, lighting and to power all that medical equipment. A new campaign led by health care workers and medical groups is calling on the federal government to kick start what will be a marathon to electrify Australia’s 700 odd public hospitals. They’re proposing the government fun...
Nov 28, 2024•29 min
With around a third of our homes now sporting a solar array, Australia leads the world by far in solar installations. Recent research has looked at what makes people install solar and found some very surprising factors. Postcodes with higher rates of unemployed have higher rates of rooftop solar, for instance, and the more solar panels you see in your neighbourhood, the more likely you are to install them yourself. Kaveh Khalilpour is one of the report’s researchers and an Associate Professor in...
Nov 17, 2024•31 min
Australia is generating more energy on rooftops than from coal and gas plants, and the industry is betting on virtual power plants (VPPs) to harness this power for the grid. VPPs work by coordinating solar panels, batteries, and other small energy resources to function as one large, flexible power source. But many consumers are reluctant to join one. James Sturch is a Technical Director at Solar Edge, and he warns that VPPs are set up to fail unless the energy system changes. Whilst governments ...
Nov 10, 2024•41 min
Rosemary Grundy has done a detailed analysis of how long it will take to get a return on her investment in renewables. From the day she moved into her new house in December 2021, she’s diligently recorded how much she saves from not using fossil fuels, and how much she pays for electricity, and calculated that she’ll break even on her solar panels, batteries, and two electric vehicles in just under 9 years. Rosemary is now developing a break-even calculator to help other householders work out wh...
Nov 03, 2024•44 min
In just over 8 years the Octopus Group has become one of the largest green energy retailers, generators, installers and investors in the UK. Underpinning and revolutionising the way they do business is Kraken technology. Devrim Celal is the Chief Marketing and flexibility officer at Kraken. He explains why consumer trust in the electricity industry is so important and why the energy transition will not succeed unless we are given incentives to participate in helping balance electricity when it i...
Oct 27, 2024•45 min
The Electrify 2515 Community Pilot has landed $5.4 million from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency to run a world first electrification pilot. Under the pilot, 500 residents in the 2515 postcode south of Sydney will receive subsidies and support to install electric hot water, reverse cycle air conditioners, induction cooktops, and home batteries, and a free smart home energy device to track and optimise their energy use. But the main objective of the pilot is to identify the opportunities an...
Oct 20, 2024•34 min
By the end of the decade, it’s anticipated every home in Australia will be paying time-of-use, or cost-reflective, tariffs, rather than a flat rate for our electricity. Some households though are getting much higher electricity bills because their electricity retailer didn’t tell them they’d been put on a time-of-use tariff and have to pay more during peak periods. Brendan French, the Chief Executive of Energy Consumers Australia, outlines why cost-reflective tariffs shouldn’t be mandatory, and ...
Oct 08, 2024•40 min
The Federal Government has funded over 400 community batteries to be installed across Australia to provide shared storage for up to 100,000 households. Most of that funding has gone to electricity distributors, the poles and wires companies. One of those companies is Ausgrid, the largest distributor of electricity on the east coast, providing power to nearly 2 million customers. Group Executive of Distributed Services at Ausgrid, Rob Amphlett Lewis, discusses why mid-scale batteries have a big r...
Sep 29, 2024•44 min
Poor air tightness of our buildings can lead to draughty, leaky, and uncomfortable homes. It can also increase our energy bills by up to 20 per cent. Senior experimental scientist at the CSIRO, Michael Ambrose, has recently completed Australia’s most comprehensive study on the ‘leakiness’ of recently built homes. He found the air tightness of new homes has improved significantly since he first conducted a similar study in 2015, but there’s still room for improvement. For more information on ener...
Sep 22, 2024•33 min
Brendan Lang is an electrician from Melbourne who swapped his diesel guzzling tradie ute for a Tesla. He calls his business Get off Gas and this week he provides answers to household electrification questions, such as: Do I need to rewire my house to install an induction stove? Do I need 3 phase power if I want to go all-electric? Should I insulate my home before I get rid of the gas and electrify everything? What should I say to a tradie who says heat pumps are no good? How do I navigate the go...
Sep 15, 2024•49 min
A new campaign urging the federal government to invest in local energy hubs in regional areas has kicked off. It follows the release of a recent report by the Regional Australia Institute that suggests Australia’s net zero targets are under threat unless regional communities are given a seat at the table to help drive the renewable energy change. Sally Hunter is a farmer from Gomeroy country, near Narrabri, in north west New South Wales. Her family farm is one of the first in the region to go al...
Sep 08, 2024•32 min
Zero Emissions Noosa (ZEN) – a community energy group in Queensland – is currently working with the Noosa Council to install a community battery in the Noosa region. They’re the only non-industry group in Queensland to receive a federal grant for a community battery. ZEN has published a recent report that acknowledges community batteries aren’t yet financially viable without government grants, but they argue community batteries are still necessary for the energy transition. Vivienne Griffin is o...
Sep 02, 2024•37 min
Household hot water systems account for a quarter of a household’s power load. Finding ways to save on the cost of producing hot water, and reduce emissions, has been the focus of much recent research. But it’s not just what we heat our water with, but when. Energy experts argue we should shift our hot water heating to the middle of the day when there is abundant solar going into the system. Not only will this reduce our emissions, it could save billions of dollars. Recent research shows there i...
Aug 25, 2024•32 min
22 years ago the Solar Schools initiative was founded to help schools better monitor and manage their energy use, and also educate kids about energy. The program has been ‘incredibly successful’ at helping students and schools take charge of the energy they use. In 2023 the 600 schools they work with reduced 45,000 tons of CO2 and saved taxpayers about $7.8 million. But with increasing amounts of technology now being used in Australian schools, our schools are consuming energy at an ever-increas...
Aug 18, 2024•37 min
Deputy Chair of Zero Emissions Noosa, Mark Purcell, is on a mission to get 50,000 households to electrify and install batteries. He's electrified three homes, and now wants to spread the word to other householders about electrification and decarbonisation. He’s calculated that if he can get 50,000 households to electrify and install batteries one less gas peaker plant will be needed during critical hours of peak demand. But although he's fully committed to household electrification and decarboni...
Aug 11, 2024•37 min
Electrifying and decarbonising our homes isn’t always straightforward – we might not know where to start, what to prioritise, who to trust, what products to install, how much it will all cost, what rebates and incentives are available, can I get finance, what’s the best energy retailer that won’t rip me off. And despite the financial incentives that are now available for households and businesses the uptake on rebates remains low. The process can be a minefield, and many people end up thinking, ...
Aug 04, 2024•34 min
Energy Efficiency Council's Jeremy Sung discusses energy standards for lighting and heat pumps and the federal government's Consumer Energy Resources Roadmap. For more information on electrification and energy efficiency https://onestepoffthegrid.com.au
Jul 28, 2024•37 min
In last year’s federal budget the Government allocated $1 billion to a Household Energy Upgrades program to help homeowners fast track their transition to cleaner, cheaper energy. Grace Tam is the Head of Consumer finance at the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, the CEFC, the agency responsible for rolling out the program. She discusses the importance of green finance for householders, and how difficult it was to get Australia’s banks, mutuals, and other lenders to offer truly green finance that...
Jul 18, 2024•40 min
Brendan Lang runs an electrification business in Melbourne that helps householders and businesses transition from gas-fuelled appliances to efficient electric ones. He’s a passionate environmentalist who has swapped his Amarok ute for a Tesla model Y. Brendan discusses why he opted for a Tesla, and provides some practical advice on the best forms of heating, when you need 3 phase power or should rewire your house, how to find a good electrician, and why peer to peer training for electricians is ...
Jul 09, 2024•38 min
In the absence of bipartisan support for solutions to the climate crisis, local community groups and individuals are taking it upon themselves to help drive the transition to a clean energy economy. ClearSky Solar is just one community initiative that is helping businesses divest from fossil fuels by supporting investments in clean energy and sustainable projects. They do this by linking community investors to local solar projects that need financing. Clearsky has helped finance solar installati...
Jun 30, 2024•32 min
Two years ago Brody Kenrick embarked on a journey to not just make his late 60s house carbon neutral, but carbon negative. He wanted to make sure his own house had zero carbon emissions and also displace emissions from the grid. Since upgrading his own home Kenrick has also decarbonised his son’s preschool, his parents’ house, and his in-laws. They all now make big savings on their energy bills. While he admits being a trained electrical engineer and tech savvy has been an advantage, and he and ...
Jun 23, 2024•56 min
Australia’s Energy Market Operator predicts that in the future over 30 per cent of Australia’s electricity generation and flexible demand services will come from VPPs. And many energy retailers are literally banking on consumers signing up to one. VPPs are seen as one way to coordinate and manage all the numerous small-scale, decentralized energy resources like solar panels, EVs, and home batteries. But not everyone thinks that’s going to happen. Tim Washington is the co-founder and CEO of one o...
Jun 16, 2024•45 min
Most energy retailers make money by accessing the wholesale energy market, whacking on a big mark up, and then selling power to consumers. The more energy we use, the more money they make. But Amber Electric is not playing the usual retailer game. They give consumers direct access to the wholesale energy market. Co-founder and Co-CEO of Amber Electric, Dan Adams, outlines how Amber is disrupting the energy retail industry, why the massive energy resources consumers are installing won’t be fully ...
Jun 09, 2024•53 min
Electric bikes are taking Australia by storm as more people recognise they can be used for commuting. Bike advocates argue e-bikes, and active transport, should have a large part to play in our transport future. 50% of all trips across our cities are now less than 5 kilometres – a perfect distance for e-biking. Peter Bourke, the General Manager of Bicycle Industries Australia and the Executive Officer of We Ride Australia, estimates that if we increase the number of e-bike commutes by just 5%, i...
Jun 02, 2024•38 min
A popular refrain of the renewable energy transition is it will deliver an energy system that is more democratic, as well as decarbonised. That the political power of generating energy will shift from big power companies to households, as a result of us being able to generate and control electrical power from our rooftop solar, batteries, electric vehicles, etc. But this decentralised, democratic narrative isn’t a foregone conclusion. For many years Dr Bjorn Sturmberg, the Research Leader at the...
May 26, 2024•35 min
In the last couple of weeks the Federal Government has brought down a budget that does nothing to help householders electrify, and a gas strategy based on the premise that fossil “gas is needed through to 2050 and beyond.” Whilst the Government has promised a $300 rebate on every household’s energy bill, this one-off sugar hit is seen by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) as a missed opportunity to deliver permanent energy bill relief to those most in need. Permane...
May 19, 2024•37 min
As we embrace the renewable energy transition there’s a growing interest in ‘community’ batteries – they’re seen as a way for local communities to share energy resources, especially with people who can’t afford their own batteries or solar. But Tristan Edis, the Director of Analysis and Advisory at the consultancy firm Green Energy Markets, says most of the medium sized batteries that have so far been installed in Australia and called ‘community’ batteries have failed to deliver value for energy...
May 12, 2024•41 min
Amory Lovins has been writing and talking about energy policy, renewable energy, sustainability and energy efficiency for over 50 years. His views have been crucial to our understanding of energy efficiency. Lovins has advised major firms and numerous governments, authored hundreds of papers and books, and taught at several universities most recently Stanford. Time magazine named him one of the world’s most influential people. Lovins joins his colleague, Dean Walter, Principal of Strategy at RMI...
May 05, 2024•53 min
Australians are installing an estimated 940,000 new gas appliances and 800,000 new resistive electric appliances -panel heaters, oil heaters and older style electric hot water systems - every year, which are locking in significant long-term costs for heating and cooking. The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis(IEEFA) found these inefficient appliances will force Australians to rack up $3.4billion in unnecessary energy costs because, whilst they may be cheaper to buy, they are m...
Apr 28, 2024•37 min
