Australia Also Engaged PV Poverty Alleviation

Australia announced for the first time that a solar pilot government project for low-income families in the Berejiklian state of New South Wales is currently underway. In this trial, the state of Berejiklian selected eligible low-income families in some areas, and they chose to replace the 10-year low-income family subsidy with a solar power system.

Berejiklian State originally planned to provide 2.5 kW/household photovoltaic power generation systems for 3,400 households, and is currently being updated to provide 3,000 households with 3kw/household photovoltaic systems. The project's review criteria for entering low-income household solar projects are:

1. Area of project implementation:

Central Coast, North Coast, Sydney-South, Illawarra – Shoalhaven, South Coast.

2. For other eligibility criteria, the applicant must:

 Hold a valid retirement benefit or Veterans Affairs Gold Card;

 have their own home and roof;

 No solar system installed yet;

 Do not live in retired villages or multi-storey apartment buildings;

 The annual electricity consumption is 3,600 kWh.

The government has appointed three household distributed installers to provide and install solar systems for pilot projects.

According to the project plan, families entering the project can choose to install a larger system of no more than 6KW - but need to pay the difference. For those with high electricity bills, more PV means more power generation, and it might be a wise choice if you can afford the difference in installation costs. The installation company does not allow "upsell" to 6kw, so participants need to get an additional quote for the system. The project also needs to install smart meters, and power companies in some regions can provide smart meter devices for free. In some areas, users need to purchase them themselves.

Expected PV revenue

Participants will lose 10 years of low-income family subsidies, and the current standard is a $285 annual electricity discount. However, the New South Wales government believes that the annual revenue of electricity for 3kw PV systems is conservatively estimated at an average of about US$600, depending on the installation details and household energy consumption.

Other considerations

Participants do not need to change their power retailers, but they may need to change their contract with the current power retailer to get the electricity outlay price and allow the power retailer to send a copy of the electricity bill to the state government. Changes in power plans can also lead to changes in electricity prices.

Once the PV system is installed, participants are responsible for system maintenance. The project is currently in progress.

For reference

Although there are different PV poverty alleviation models in different regions, Australia has converted some government subsidies into PV system investments to help poor families get more benefits. This is a very positive push for the development of household distributed.