Residents and businesses in Adelaide are being offered renewable energy rebates in an ‘Australian first’ with $5000 rebates on battery storage systems as well as $5000 towards solar panel installations – among other incentives beginning in July of this year.

Lord Mayor Martin Haese is proud to be leading the charge towards an Australian energy revolution. Adelaide City has a solar uptake of 6% penetration while the suburbs have around 27% uptake. This is due mainly to the fact that the city is largely made up of commercial businesses. By extending the renewable energy rebates to these city premises – who are also the highest emitters of carbon dioxide – Adelaide will hopefully increase clean energy usage and lower CO2 emissions.

Lord Mayor Haese believes this is money well spent saying, “Not only will we have a more liveable city, but we’ll also have a more economically prosperous and sustainable city as a result.”

“Given that business is 80 per cent of the emitters of the City of Adelaide, by extending these programs to the commercial community and the building owners it actually helps these building owners bring about a more competitive advantage.”

From the 1st of July 2015 the Sustainable City Incentives Scheme will offer up to:

• $5,000 for installing solar power systems
• $5,000 for installing battery energy storage
• $500 per electric vehicle charging station
• $5,000 for apartment building energy efficiency upgrades
• $1,000 for changing out quartz halogen downlights to LED downlights
• $1,000 for solar hot water systems
• $500 for rain water tanks

“We are on the cusp of an energy revolution, now, just as we capture and store the rain water that falls on our roofs, we can capture the sun’s energy and store it until we need it, making continuous availability of carbon-free renewable energy a reality,” said Lord Mayor Martin Haese.

“Energy storage coupled with renewables is a game changer for the way the world reduces carbon emissions. With more than 27% of South Australian households already having solar PV on their roof, we are perfectly positioned to embrace the next era. I am proud to lead the first Australian government to offer such comprehensive incentives.”

Mayor Haese said the Adelaide City community had slashed its carbon emissions by 19% between 2007 and 2013. The Council itself has reduced emissions by 60%, energy use by 10.3% and saved more than $400,000 a year on electricity costs since 2009/10.