From July next year, Logan residents are set to receive three free hours of solar energy per day.
Here’s what we know so far.
On 4 November, the federal government announced its plans to introduce a new scheme granting south-east Queensland residents three free hours of solar energy per day, during peak times.
The program, called Solar Sharer, will also be available to residents of New South Wales and South Australia from July 2026, and may be expanded to other states or territories in 2027.
The program aims to target the period of the day when the highest amounts of solar energy is being collected, between 11am and 2pm, and the lowest amount of electricity is being used.
While the finer details of the scheme are still to be determined, we know customers will need a smart meter to take part.
Founder of Savvy Energy Services, a company that installs solar panels and solar battery storage, Luke Stewart said he thought the proposed program could help the energy grid if implemented correctly.
“To really maximize the benefits [of solar power] these days, you need a battery because you don’t really get a lot of feed-in credits anymore,” Mr Stewart said.
“If you’re feeding in lots of energy to the grid, you’re not going to get a lot for it so you’ll need a corresponding battery to soak up that energy and use it at night.
“Without that, you’re not going to get a lot of return on investment.”
A solar feed-in tariff or solar buyback rate is a sum of money that energy providers pay to residents in exchange for their excess or unused solar power.
To get the most out of your solar energy system, Mr Stewart recommended buying panels from good brands with decent warranties.
He said a few energy providers, including AGL, Red Energy, GloBird Energy, and OVO Energy, already offered free power periods.
“I can’t see too much changing, because people can get free power now for the three hours,” Mr Stewart said.
“The point of difference is getting a decent feed-in-tariff, which you can’t get without a battery.”
In the past year, Mr Stewart said he thought the rate of solar system installations had decreased.
His company, Savvy Energy Services, installs about 10 solar systems per week, within a two and a half hour radius of Logan.
“There are enough solar panels on roofs, or close enough anyway, to the point that the grid often goes negative in pricing most days.
“The real shortage is battery storage at the moment.”
