“Truly a world first:” Grass roots suburban electrification pilot wins federal funding

A community-led effort to electrify 500 homes in the New South Wales north Illawarra region has won $5.4 million in federal government funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, weeks ahead of its official launch in November.

The Electrify 2515 Community Pilot was initiated in 2022 by a number of locals to the NSW postcode, among them Rewiring Australia co-founder and chief scientist Saul Griffith, and soon recruited the help of green finance outfit Brighte and network operator Endeavor Energy.

Arena funding was also sought, and is now locked in to help the rollout of efficient electric appliances, including heat pump space and water heaters, and consumer energy resources (CER) like rooftop solar, home batteries and smart home energy management systems (HEMS).

The main objective of the pilot – and the key reason for the Arena support – is to accelerate the all-electric transition across a range of typical Australian homes, including rentals, to understand the impact on consumers and the network.

Arena says that by studying the installation journey closely, the pilot will generate insights into consumer behaviour and decision-making when purchasing and using CER to better understand how to scale and commercialise home electrification.

“The pilot aims to create the electric future in a real community today,” says Griffith. “Incentives and information will support households to make wise energy choices and coordination of tradespeople will facilitate the process.

“Our research will uncover any barriers that make electrification harder than it should be and highlight market reforms required to make the transition economically efficient.

“Australia is the leading rooftop solar nation. Pilots like these will allow us to invent the clean consumer energy model for the whole world.”

Arena chief Darren Miller says the project will also provide significant insight into the contribution of home electrification to grid stability while also showcasing the huge potential for efficient, electric and solar powered homes to slash energy costs for consumers.

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

For Rewiring Australia, Griffith, and the Electrify 2515 family, the pilot is also about shifting the decarbonisation spotlight away from the big end of town – major wind and solar projects – and onto the humble home.

As Griffith likes to point out, 42 per cent of Australia’s emissions come from the decisions made around the dining table, and another 29 per cent of the country’s emissions come from small businesses whose owners likely eat at that same table.

In this context, and in the context of the latest warnings from scientists that we are losing the battle against dangerous global warming, the stakes are high.

“We have got to go really fast now, faster than you think,” Griffith told the Smart Energy conference in Sydney last year. “It really just has to be by electrifying everything right now.

“We’ve got 10 million households that are going to buy 100 million machines in next two decades, And those 100 million decisions need to be easy, they need to be economically good for the household, and we need to have all the policies and everything aligned.”

Dan Cass, Rewiring Australia’s executive director, says the fact that the pilot has its origins in a local, grassroots campaign, means its findings will be invaluable to government, industry and consumers.

“We can say this is truly a world first,” Cass told Renew Economy on Tuesday. “It will show the way to deliver cost-of-living savings to all Australians.

“Other pilots have deployed solar or batteries or other clean energy technology but this whole process was built around a local grassroots campaign.

“This highly engaged and enthusiastic community in 2515 will demonstrate how to electrify homes easier and faster, so our decision makers can support every Australian household to do this tomorrow.

“Federal government funding to demonstrate the electric future will help Australia innovate new technologies, business models and policies that can bring forward tens of billions of dollars in savings for all households,” Cass said.

Of course, a key barrier to widespread home electrification and adoption of CER is the upfront cost, which is where the funding from Arena will help. It’s also part of the role that green finance outfit Brighte will play in the pilot.

Under the pilot, residents of the 2515 postcode – which includes the cities of Thirroul, Austinmer, Coledale, Wombarra, Scarborough and Clifton – can apply for subsidies of up to $1,000 off electric hot water systems, reverse cycle air conditioners, induction cooktops, and up to $1500 off home batteries.

Each household will also have a free smart energy device installed to optimise their energy use, and switchboard upgrades to support the new appliances. Additional incentives will be available for lower income households.

“This project will allow us to learn locally so we can scale nationally, generating critical insights for consumers, tradespeople, industry and policymakers on how to rapidly and effectively scale electrification across Australia,” says Brighte founder and CEO Katherine McConnell.

“We’re excited about the role we can play to demonstrate the power of homes brought to their full potential, lighting a pathway for every Australian community to electrify more easily and fast-forward to a smart, electric future.”

For its part in the pilot, Endeavour Energy, will asses and monitor its impact on the local grid.

“This is our opportunity to work with community partners and the federal government to help decarbonise the electricity grid and electrify homes,” Endeavour CEO Guy Chalkley said on Tuesday.

“We are excited and confident that this will help create clean, green communities that show the way for others to
follow.”

Federal energy minister Chris Bowen says the support from federal government is about ensuring that Australian communities can play a leading role in the clean energy transition.

“Communities across Australia are seeing the benefits of the clean energy transformation, and the Albanese government is delivering the leadership and support they need to grasp those benefits,” Bowen said on Tuesday.

“This Arena pilot project supporting home electrification will help create valuable insights into how households can transition to renewables and smart energy systems to cut energy costs and reduce emissions.”

The Electrify 2515 Community Pilot launch is on November 10. Details here.

You can also hear an interview with Kristen McDonald from Electrify 2515 about the pilot on the SwitchedOn podcast.