SwitchedOn Australia

In the Northern Territory remote First Nations communities have to battle power outages, a reliance on diesel, and mandatory prepaid metres for their electricity that are regularly disconnected when residents don't have the money to top up their power cards. Without access to functional, reliable and affordable power, the basics for a healthy home and community just don't exist. Now, a small, grassroots, indigenous led community development and capacity building organisation, Original Power, is working with First Nations communities to solve long standing energy security problems by helping them move towards lower cost, clean energy. Their latest project will install the first Indigenous owned utility scale renewable energy project in Borroloola.Lauren Mellor, Chantelle Johns, and Madison Sturgess, from Original Power, spoke to the SwitchedOn podcast. For more information on electrification and energy efficiency https://switchedon.reneweconomy.com.au

Embedded networks allow for the bulk purchase of energy – electricity, gas, or water - from an energy retailer usually at a discount. The number of embedded networks are growing rapidly and being installed in apartment blocks, caravan parks, retirement villages, and also for commercial tenants in shopping centres. But Professor of Law at Macquarie University, Cathy Sherry, says many owners and tenants are getting locked into an embedded network and forced to pay well above ordinary retail rates for their power and water because of developers are making cosy deals with suppliers. For more information about electrification and energy upgrades https://switchedon.reneweconomy.com.au

Australia has around 3.7 million solar rooftop systems but only a small fraction of them, about 180,000, also have a battery. Electricity networks have been reducing the feed-in tariffs they pay solar owners in recent years and will soon start charging solar owners for feeding their excess solar into the grid during the day. But they'll pay owners to feed-in during the evening when demand for power is greater. Independent sustainable energy advisor, Norman Koslowski, from Sky High Energy Control, says the only way solar owners can deal with the changes is to buy a battery. Find more information about electrification and home energy efficiency switchedon.reneweconomy.com.au

Sarah Aubrey lived in her federation house in the inner west of Sydney for 12 years before she embarked on her electrification journey. By then she was fed up with being cold in winter and paying ever increasing energy bills. So she ditched the gas, went fully electric and efficient, and now uses a quarter of the electricity she used to. Find more information about electrification and home energy efficiency switchedon.reneweconomy.com.au

Urgent, courageous action is needed to better integrate consumer energy assets into our electricity system if we want to underpin Australia’s future economic prosperity with lower electricity and transport costs, and eliminate our dependency on gas. A new report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) has for the first time analysed the full range of benefits that flow from householders and businesses installing consumer energy resources, also called distributed energy resources (DER). Dr Gabrielle Kuiper, a specialist in distributed energy and author of the IEEFA report argues distributed energy resources must not come second in policy, planning and regulation to transmission and large-scale generation. Find more information about electrification and home energy efficiency https://switchedon.reneweconomy.com.au

Every time a sparkie walks out of a house, chances are they leave it more energy efficient than when they walked in. But Australia has a shortage of electricians. And we will need 35,000 more sparkies than the 170,000 we already have by 2030, and another 80,000 on top of that by 2050 if we are going to electrify everything. It's a scary prospect but one that Michael Wright, the National Secretary of the Electrical Trades Union is optimistic about. Find more information about electrification and home energy efficiency https://switchedon.reneweconomy.com.au

Former conservative energy minister Josh Frydenberg kyboshed Lord Howe Island’s plans to build a wind turbine which would help reduce its reliance on dirty, expensive diesel electricity generation. But the world heritage island community kept pursuing plans for renewables and now generates nearly 70% of their electricity from solar and battery storage. Stuart Watson, community solar and EV pioneer, and solar yachting sailor, sailed out to the island to check on the solar panels he’s installed on several private residences and resorts, and gives the low down on the island’s full electrification plans. Find more information about electrification and home energy efficiency https://switchedon.reneweconomy.com.au

The Climateworks Centre has modelled ways for Australia's leaky homes to become 'climate ready' using thermal upgrades and electrification, which would enable us to avoid building an oversized energy grid. Gill Armstrong, the Project Impact Manager for the Climateworks project discusses what it will take to kick-start the renovation wave. Find more information about electrification and home energy efficiency https://switchedon.reneweconomy.com.au

Lucinda Flynn is a home energy efficiency assessor working in Melbourne who has conducted hundreds of energy assessments that have saved householders thousands of dollars. She explains why your reverse cycle air conditioner feels blowy, why old homes can be easier to make energy efficient than new builds, and tips for retrofitting an energy upgrade on a budget. Find more information about electrification and home energy efficiency https://switchedon.reneweconomy.com.au

The anticipated exponential increase in battery electric vehicles and battery storage systems over the next decade means lithium-ion battery recycling will become imperative if we're to get to net zero. Gavin Collis from the CSIRO discusses the future of Australia's battery recycling industry.