The world-first, community-driven electrification blueprint for Australia’s energy future

In a ground-breaking move, the Electrify 2515 Community Pilot has secured $5.4 million from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to help run a world-first electrification project in a small coastal region south of Sydney.

The project, which has been shepherded from idea to reality by the community energy group, Electrify 2515, with the backing of Rewiring Australia, will see 500 homes in the 2515 postcode north of Wollongong retrofitted with electric hot water systems, induction cooktops, reverse cycle air conditioners, home batteries, and smart energy devices to monitor and optimize their energy use.

But beyond the benefits the project will deliver for 500 of the 4500 homes in the 2515 postcode, the pilot is a bold attempt to chart the future of household electrification across Australia.

A Community-Led Push for Change

Electrify 2515’s application for funding was in part successful because of the strong local enthusiasm for electrification already demonstrated by the residents.

Kristen McDonald, one of Electrify 2515’s coordinators, told the SwitchedOn podcast, this enthusiasm will be critical for the pilot’s success because participating households will still have to make a significant personal investment to install the new electric appliances, even with subsidies in place.

The subsidies, which include up to $1,000 off hot water systems, reverse cycle air conditioners, and induction cooktops, and up to $1,500 off home batteries, will help reduce the costs of electrifying but won’t cover everything.

McDonald admits “getting 500 homes to invest their own personal capital or take out a personal loan to afford the difference of the appliance costs is ambitious.”

In the United States, Rewiring America has also been running electrification pilots but with access to a lot of different subsidies under the Inflation Reduction Act. Their projects are considerably smaller with around 50 homes and in bigger areas.

But McDonald is hopeful that with the ARENA subsidies, and the additional availability of loans through the green finance company Brighte, they will recruit enough homes to ensure the results of the project are meaningful.

“We think we have a really good shot, but we definitely don’t have certainty.”

The Electrify 2515 pilot project will not just be about upgrading homes in one small part of New South Wales—it will be a testbed for retrofitting and electrifying 11 million homes in Australia.

“The whole purpose of this project is so we can identify all the kinds of challenges and friction points, and bottlenecks, at the local level that we can therefore address to make it more scalable at the national level,” McDonald says.

The project will shine a light on the specific difficulties faced by different types of homes. From standalone houses to apartments and rentals, electrifying each different type of home in Australia presents unique financial and technical challenges.

The pilot will also help identify what it will take to electrify rental homes. While financial incentives might be enough to convince some landlords to invest, McDonald anticipates larger policy changes, such as mandatory energy disclosure or minimum rental standards, will ultimately be needed to make electrification widespread in the rental market.

A Win for the Community—and Beyond

For the residents of the 2515 postcode, which includes towns like Thirroul, Austinmer, and Coledale, participating in this pilot could lead to lower energy bills and a more comfortable, healthier home environment.

It will also boost the local economy by creating work for local tradespeople who will handle the installations.

But electrifying homes in a controlled and managed way could also help reduce the need for costly upgrades to the electricity network—a win for all electricity consumers.

“By undertaking electrification in a managed way, we can reduce the need to upgrade our electricity network and reduce costs for all electricity consumers,” ARENA chief executive Darren Miller says. “Flexible demand at a residential level is expected to be critical as homes electrify,”

Electrify 2515 represents a bold and ambitious step towards Australia’s net-zero future. By harnessing the energy and enthusiasm of a local community, this pilot will provide crucial real-world data on the benefits and challenges of home electrification.

“Success to us looks like 500 happy customers, who are better informed, that are saving money, that are feeling part of a really connected and positive experience… and that are making a really positive difference to our climate with their personal domestic emissions reductions,” McDonald says.

“This unlocks a real change in lifestyle that is about enjoying our life and being comfortable, but also having healthier homes, and also having more affordable homes.”

You can hear the full interview with Kristen McDonald on the SwitchedOn podcast.