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Australians love solar power and it’s not hard to see why. As one of the sunniest countries in the world, harnessing our endless sunshine to power our homes and businesses with clean, affordable energy just makes sense. It’s no wonder we’re the world leader in rooftop solar.
Already, more than 3.6 million Aussie households have taken control of their power bills by putting solar panels on their rooftops. That’s one in three households, and on average each of them are saving more than $1,500 per year. As many families struggle with increasing costs of living, rooftop solar is a clear opportunity to help Australians cut their power bills and our climate pollution at the same time.
By better using the available space on top of our homes, social housing and businesses, we can double our rooftop solar capacity this decade – and deliver the bill-busting benefits to millions more Australians. But we’re missing a trick if we focus on solar panels alone. By ramping up battery storage as well, we can soak up excess solar energy while the sun is shining, and provide reliable, affordable and clean power around the clock.
Supercharging our rooftop solar and storage can also help us build a more equitable energy system. By installing solar on social housing, we can ease the burden of bills on some of the most vulnerable people in our community. By rolling out more community batteries, we can share the benefits of affordable solar power with people who can’t install their own panels, like renters and apartment dwellers. And by easing overall demand on our electricity grid, we can make our energy system more affordable and reliable for everyone.
There’s huge benefits for our climate, too. Rolling out more rooftop solar and storage will help Australia ramp up our renewable energy capacity as our coal-fired power stations continue to close over the coming years. Cutting climate pollution further and faster this decade will help us stem the rapid rise of dangerous global warming and secure a safer future for our kids.
So what are we waiting for? We have huge potential to keep growing rooftop solar and storage in Australia, and so much to gain when we do: lower bills, less climate pollution and a more reliable grid. It’s time to cement our place as the world’s solar champions by going even bigger on solar now.
This report finds sea level rise will conservatively cost Australia $855 billion this century, and become a constant drag on our economy.
This report finds the biggest polluters continuously covered by the Safeguard Mechanism have cut their climate pollution by just 0.4%, falling far short of the 4.9% cut set out in the law.
Australian governments and industry have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to develop data centres in ways that support our shift to renewables without negatively impacting power bills, energy security or water resources.
The Climate Council acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the lands on which we live, meet and work. We wish to pay our respects to Elders, past and present, and recognise the continuous connection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to land, sea and sky. We acknowledge the ongoing leadership of First Nations people here and worldwide in protecting Country, and securing a safe and liveable climate for us all.
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