The federal government’s green bank has tipped $35 million into WA startup Plico Energy to expand the rollout of its discounted loan scheme for its rooftop solar and home battery systems.
The federal government’s green bank has tipped $35 million into WA startup Plico Energy to expand the rollout of its discounted loan scheme for its rooftop solar and home battery systems.
The Clean Energy Finance Corporation has chipped in $35 million from the $1 billion Household Energy Upgrades Fund into Plico, the retail brand of Osborne Park-based Starling Energy Group.
The funds will go towards expanding Plico's discounted loans for its rooftop solar, home batteries and access to a virtual power plant (VPP) subscription model, which enables households to feed excess power back into the grid for a return.
Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy Josh Wilson said technology like virtual power plants were key to ensuring a responsive energy system was maintained during the transition away from coal-fired power plants feeding the grid.
He said it came as renewables out-generated coal in Australia's main grid for an entire month for the first time September.
“We need to go further though than just making those generation changes, both in distributed energy and in large-scale solar and wind. We need more storage, and we need more integration and coordination,” Mr Wilson said in Beeliar this morning.
“That makes costs lower for households and small and medium enterprises, and it makes the system cheaper as a whole and delivers those benefits to everybody who is part of the system – whether they've got home solar or a battery or are a part of a VPP.”
The rooftop solar and home battery market is proving to be a burgeoning sector in Western Australia amid state and federal government-level subsidies being rolled out to encourage an uptake of those systems.
Today, Wesfarmers gas retailer Kleenheat today branched into the market with an offering of fixed-priced battery and solar installations in WA.
CEFC chief executive Ian Learmonth said new consumer energy models like VPPs were essential amid the energy transition.
“By tapping into the dispatchable energy capacity of households, coordinated technologies like rooftop solar, home batteries and other consumer energy resources can help stabilise the grid, reduce energy costs, improve system reliability, and maximise the value of renewable energy investments,” he said in a statement.
“This investment supports long-term energy system efficiency and highlights the role of smart, flexible technology in delivering better outcomes for both consumers and the grid.”
Plico has 3,500 households signed up to its membership-based finance model for its weekly-instalment solar and battery plans.
It calculates that’s its solar, battery and VPP could save households $1,100 annually on energy bills, with discounted loans cutting a father $130 to $240 annually over a decade.
“Plico is committed to democratising energy through Plico’s affordable solar and battery plans, with generous VPP rewards and active participation in grid stability using a model that provides direct and meaningful benefits,” Plico chief executive Robbie Campbell said in a statement.
