<
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/sep/13/chris-bowens-defining-climate-moment-is-nigh-and-he-knows-what-it-means-if-we-get-it-wrong>
"Progress on the climate crisis is often slow and frustrating. But sometimes,
when people are given an opportunity, change can come in a rush.
On 1 July, the government introduced a subsidy scheme for small battery systems
that reduces the cost for most households by about $4,000, or 30%. The response
has been rapid. More than 1,000 batteries are being installed across the
country each weekday.
It has boosted the total energy storage capacity in homes across the country by
about 25% in just two months. The take-up has been strongest in regional and
outer suburban areas.
The man responsible for the policy, the climate change and energy minister,
Chris Bowen, is keen to point out this success – not just the pace of
installations, but the distribution, which suggests the scheme is not the
welfare program for the inner-city wealthy that some critics claimed it would
be. The initial result, he says, is “sort of at the extreme end of how I
thought it might go”.
“I thought it would be popular. Without going into cabinet conversations, I
told the colleagues that this will be an outer suburban story,” he says.
His confidence was partly based on Australia’s experience in putting up more
than 4m rooftop solar systems, at least as much in the suburbs as in inner
urban areas."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
