Decision on Victorian solar public housing imminent

After continued pressure from residents, the Andrews Government is set to make a decision on whether to include public housing tenants in its solar rebate scheme. The decision is pending publication of The Solar Opportunities for Public Housing Assets report expected later this month.

May 22, 2019 Paul Zubrinich

Daniel Andrews and Lily D’Ambrosio at Gippsland Solar.

Image: Gippsland Solar

While residential solar installations continue to surge, policymakers continue to face the quandary of how to support installations at rental properties or in public housing. Victoria appears to be moving towards a solution, as a part of its rooftop Solar Homes program – driven in part by the demands of public housing occupants.

Residents of a Port Melbourne housing estate have joined together to put pressure on the Victorian Government to install solar panels, and even battery storage, on the roof of every public housing project. Many of these residents are elderly, sick or disabled, meaning they spend most of their day at home racking up enormous power bills that rapidly exhaust their pensions.

There are 64,000 public housing residences in Victoria and one resident, Meredith Munro, a 72-year-old retired teacher, has found a support to her demands for solar support to be extended beyond home owners – as reported in Fairfax Media.

One such supporter is the Clean Energy Council (CEC). The CEC’s Director of Smart Energy Darren Gladman, points out that solar coverage on public housing would significantly reduce its cost to the public purse.

While the wait continues for a decision from the Victorian Government, such a scheme is far from being unprecedented. In Queensland the Palaszczuk Government is already in the trial stage for solar panels on public housing in Cairns, Rockhampton and soon the City of Logan.

Author: Blake Matich

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