In a time when energy costs are rising, Australia is taking a different approach. The country has acquired so much solar power that they’re giving it away. In fact, those who sign up for the program will get three free hours of energy each day.
This comes from a government-run offer dubbed Solar Sharer. It offers a free three-hour period for those who sign up. This period runs from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales. The period runs from noon to 3:00 p.m. in South Australia.
Free, but not unlimited, power
While the power is free for those who are eligible and have a smart meter, there is a daily cap of 24 kilowatt-hours (kWh). Any amount above that will be charged. However, the energy cap is based on the Australian Energy Regulator’s assessment of what a five-person household uses each day.
While that free period each day provides a great window to use major appliances or charge electric cars, there are some catches. Solar Sharer isn’t yet available to residents outside those areas, but energy brokers are making similar offers. There is also no guarantee that electricity rates won’t get higher outside of those free periods either.
Who benefits?
The program is designed for those who are a part of a solar power grid. It also benefits people who work from home the most. If the people in the household are at their job or the office, they likely won’t be able to take advantage of the deal.
While Energy Consumers Australia supports this offer, they are concerned about how governments and retailers relay the information to customers. In short, they don’t want people to be surprised if their electricity rates are charged higher during the non-free periods. They’re also concerned that, by their measure, only three in 10 eligible people were aware of this offer.
“We don’t want to have people signing up to these plans assuming it will decrease their bills, when in fact it could do the opposite,” the consumer advocacy group said to The Guardian.
There is a chance that rates won’t get higher if more people are able to take advantage of Solar Sharer. Since most electricity use is during the evening when more people are home from work, changing up the usage towards daytime hours can benefit everyone. It would still be an uphill battle as electric light is mostly used in the evening and nighttime when it’s dark.
Similar programs elsewhere
While there are catches, this isn’t the first program of its type. There are similar successful free energy programs in other nations. Areas such as Germany and the Nordic countries create so much green energy through wind farms that they make similar free power offers. California has also offered government programs for low-income households and farmworkers housing cheap-to-free solar energy.
While kinks definitely need to be sorted out, creating so much generated energy to the point that it can be given freely is a good problem to have.
