WA Premier Promises $5000-$7500 Rebate for Home Batteries if He Wins Upcoming WA Election

rsingh87 on 23/02/2025 - 17:34
Last edited 23/02/2025 - 19:27 by 1 other user

WA Premier Roger Cook said if he wins he will give households a battery grant of $5k-$7.5k for WA-made batteries https://au.news.yahoo.com/made-wa-labor-spruiks-manufacturin….

That seems pretty good? Creates jobs, uses our surplus of lithium gives us nearly free batteries. Home batteries aren’t as complex as car batteries so it’s something reasonable we could manufacture?

I can’t seem to find out what Liberal leader Mettam stance on home battery grants are?

Edit: there are a lot of unanswered questions here
spoke to my solar guy who said usually inverters only work with their own brand of battery.
So does this rebate include the usual china batteries?
It would be crazy to leave most west Australians who already have inverters with no battery option

Electrical & Electronics Solar Battery

Comments

  • SBOB on 23/02/2025 - 17:43
    +3

    That seems pretty good? Creates jobs, uses our surplus of lithium gives us nearly free batteries. Home batteries aren’t as complex as car batteries so it’s something reasonable we could manufacture

    All completely unrelated to a 5k residential battery 'grant' program though.

    • rsingh87 on 23/02/2025 - 17:48
      -2

      “He also promised $50 million to kickstart battery manufacturing in the state to create the batteries necessary for its $5000 rebate and $10,000 loan home battery incentive promise.”

    • Dr Phil on 24/02/2025 - 07:46
      -1

      "uses our surplus of lithium"

      The batteries are made in China using thier own lithium!

      • R4 on 25/02/2025 - 18:21
        +1

        Plenty of lithium, both refined and raw, is exported from WA to China. Chinese company Tianqi has a lithium processing plant down at Kwinana. As it stands right now, Australia is the largest producer of lithium in the World, with WA being the biggest source.

  • freefall101 on 23/02/2025 - 17:51
    +6

    I’m all for it, but it feels like it’ll be another election until they get it off the ground. There’s a lot of steps involved, there’s a lithium refinery in WA already but no cell manufacturing or pack gigafactory.

    We should be making our own batteries though, they will cost a bit more but it pours the money back into our own economy instead of a foreign one.

    • rsingh87 on 23/02/2025 - 17:56
      +1

      Yeah true will take some time to come online and batteries could become even cheaper till then. I suppose we got to try making something in this state and I don’t see what the opposition are offering.

    • us3rnam3tak3n on 25/02/2025 - 17:52

      Yeah, I wouldn't hold my breath on the manufacturing promise but the battery rebates are meant to begin this June.

    • R4 on 25/02/2025 - 18:23

      There's 2 lithium processing plants in WA - Kemerton and Kwinana.

      Agree we should be making batteries. Despite the additional cost, we build trains in Midland, so why not batteries.

  • Protractor on 23/02/2025 - 18:00
    +20

    Cook should get Albo to put a huge tariff on all Australian lithium to the USA. The sooner Australia gets a head of the USA on this battery manufacture, front the better. They get most of our decent lithium already. We are stupid for selling raw resources and never value adding. F***k the USA. They officially hate renewables anyway. Let them drill baby drill.

    • soan papdi on 23/02/2025 - 18:11
      +2

      Cook should get Albo to put a huge tariff on all Australian lithium to the USA.

      Tariffs are set by the importer's govt (USA) and paid for by the importer

      We are stupid for selling raw resources and never value adding

      Totally agreed.

      • fantombloo on 23/02/2025 - 18:17
        +6

        Export tarrifs are paid for by the exporter and recouped in higher export prices. Nothing new here.

        • soan papdi on 23/02/2025 - 18:20
          -3

          Learnt something today. However, why would we voluntarily hurt our exports? We have enough raw material to do both export and value add locally

          • fantombloo on 23/02/2025 - 18:26

            @soan papdi: Something's always gonna hurt. Gotta pick according to overall strategy. A good design has the benefactors helping the hurt. There are intelligent people who spend their entire professional lives figuring out these things - it's most likely not going to be a simple one paragraph answer.

          • happydude on 23/02/2025 - 18:28

            @soan papdi: Export Tariffs are usually used when there is a domestic shortage of a product and the government want to keep it more of it at home. They are increasingly rare.

            In the case of lithium, it would be insane.

            • fantombloo on 23/02/2025 - 18:31

              @happydude:

              domestic shortage of a product

              Innovation and technology are also such products.

              Im not saying anything specifically about lithium here, just putting forward that you're not saying anything about the above.

              • happydude on 23/02/2025 - 18:34

                @fantombloo: Removing international price competition is rarely a good idea. It deceases incentive and increases risk for primary producers if they can only rely on domestic demand. GDP is better served by demand.

                Cutting red tape for Innovation and technology is better policy.

                • fantombloo on 23/02/2025 - 18:38

                  @happydude:

                  red tape

                  Genuinely interested in what specific red tape you see here. (Not necessarily related to export tarrifs ✌️)

                • tenpercent on 23/02/2025 - 20:52

                  @happydude: Fat lot of good a bigger GDP will do for Australia when its mainly foreigners and big corporations who own the primary producers who in turn own the state politicians and keep the royalties low.

        • Zondor on 24/02/2025 - 21:25

          Only for the portion we buy back.

          If I sell 10 icecream cones and tax 10%, then buy 3 back that I need for my family, I'm only paying 10% on 3 while I earn the tariff effectively on the other 7?

    • jackspratt on 24/02/2025 - 17:13
      +2

      Given:

      • there are currently no export duties from Australia

      • there is a potential tariff war looming with the USA

      • export duties are not specific to one country

      All in all, that is a pretty dopey idea.

      • Protractor on 24/02/2025 - 18:03

        Can't be. Trump loves tariffs. And it will MAGA. Or is he FOS?

    • heal on 24/02/2025 - 21:38
      +2

      Cook should get Albo to put a huge tariff on all Australian lithium to the USA.

      97% of our Lithium exports go to China.

      • Protractor on 25/02/2025 - 00:00

        To be made into batteries that keep Elons dream alive. (For now) Hopefully they end the dream before he flogs Tesla off.

        • heal on 28/02/2025 - 10:53

          I'm pretty sure that China makes batteries for other companies as well as Tesla. Seems you are a tad fixated.

          • Protractor on 28/02/2025 - 11:09

            @heal: Good news for China.Kind of makes Musk a hypocrite of the highest order, don't you think?
            Sooner or later the clash between Trumps deluded political desires (taking on Chinas export machine) and Musks bottom line are going to collide head on.
            Anyone not fixated on what's playing out in the USA, is on the express bus to apathy central.

            • tenpercent on 28/02/2025 - 20:42

              @Protractor: Is being fixated on it going to change what actions you take in your life or increase your ability to influence it?

  • brendanm on 23/02/2025 - 18:44
    -1

    Everyone needs to get behind Li-S energy, Australian designed and manufactured (eventually) batteries, world leading energy density.

  • tenpercent on 23/02/2025 - 19:51

    Premier Promises $5000-$7500 Rebate … if He Wins Upcoming WA Election

    That's the West Australian way! Buying votes just before an election.

    …then Cook the Crook will retire before the subsequent election and roll straight into a cushy 6 figure job with one of the big lithium miners.

    • Protractor on 23/02/2025 - 20:35
      +4

      Nah, big gas or mining job awaits.It's a WA tradition. The stench of brown paper bags under tables is rife in govts on both sides.Note that McGowan and his ex treasurer both accidentally fell into good fortune VERY soon after they retired. Funny how in McGowans case his burnt out,no energy left vanished quicker than wink.These days paper bags come in crypto format.

    • Thesinc on 23/02/2025 - 21:23
      +1

      You realise election promises aren't "vote buying" - they're how democracy works. Parties present ideas they think will help people, and voters decide if they agree. That's literally the point of elections 🤷‍♂️

      • tenpercent on 23/02/2025 - 21:29

        I will give you money if you vote me. Democracy is so very nice.

        • Protractor on 23/02/2025 - 21:48
          +2

          "I will give you something you may or may not want, via the taxes you pay"
          "But guaranteed I'll also give you lots of things you definitely don't want ( or need ) , which our lobbyists demand ,or which will line their pockets, via the same money taxpayer pit"

      • ThithLord on 24/02/2025 - 11:10
        +2

        tenpercent categorically does not understand how Democracy works, mate.

        • tenpercent on 24/02/2025 - 11:47

          Yeah maybe, but if you vote for me I'll use your tax money to give you some of it back in a lump sum as a thank you. Do I have your vote? Edit: I'll do 1.5x whatever the Cooker is offering you.

      • BuzzBuzzBuzz on 24/02/2025 - 20:39
        +1

        No silly, it's only vote buying when the other side does it. Why bother debating policy on its merits, when you can instead act like a braindead troglodyte and throw around nicknames you heard on 6PR and Sky?

    • Snoozer on 24/02/2025 - 10:02
      +1

      All politicians around the world do this. Last year Trump was quoted as saying “When I win, I will immediately bring prices down, starting on Day One", yet prices have continued to rise in the USA.

    • frewer on 24/02/2025 - 20:07

      There is free lunch where do I sign up

    • R4 on 25/02/2025 - 18:25

      I think you'll find that's the way in most democracies - it was certainly the case in the recent US election that's for sure.

  • vorsprung on 23/02/2025 - 20:11
    +1

    It reads to me (and on the AFR) as though the proposed rebate doesn’t specifically require a WA made battery. Are there any WA made batteries?

    • Protractor on 23/02/2025 - 20:38
      +6

      I doubt it. WA specialises in converting rocks to smaller rocks or dust, and shipping it overseas.
      They're pretty good at converting forests to dust as well.

    • tenpercent on 23/02/2025 - 20:41
      +1

      If you were in WA you would know if there was a WA made battery. And if it was being made somewhere else in Australia there'd be uproar that those darn east coasters were getting WA money. They would sooner go with something made overseas than something made on the "east coast" (which includes SA and NT).

    • rsingh87 on 23/02/2025 - 22:43

      Yeah I think your right its any battery a 5k rebate and interest free loan

      • us3rnam3tak3n on 25/02/2025 - 18:02

        Up to 5k depending on the capacity of the battery - not means tested.

        Interest free loans up to 10k - means tested.

  • Protractor on 23/02/2025 - 22:04
    -1

    Cook would be better off putting the grant money to buying up rural land suitable for renewable projects. Starting with the most resistant electorates.Best way politically to deal with dinosaurs is to buy them out. They will put $$ before principles eventually. Then he gets a domino effect. The 'food on our plate' argument is moot. Modern farmers are industrial scale export land mangers not farmers.
    ( None of us eat 5000 Weetbix and 1500 loaves of bread a week.)

  • joka on 24/02/2025 - 05:52
    +10

    Expect an influx of hard to understand Indians with western names calling you trying to sell you batteries.

    • Protractor on 24/02/2025 - 18:05

      You'll be screwed when they put those voices through AI and they come out the other side sounding like some hot babe or an Aussie accent

      • joka on 25/02/2025 - 12:10

        Or Arnold Schwarzenegger

  • mikekiwimike on 24/02/2025 - 08:51
    +6

    a $7.5k battery subsidy will become a price increase of all batteries by close to the $7.5k after 12 months so get in fast and beat the price increase that will happen as the solar companies take advantage of the tax payers money given to them.

  • BewareOfThe Dog on 24/02/2025 - 09:39
    +2

    We just replaced an inverter that was 10-12 years old. We added on 2 batteries @6 years ago, which i think were enphase, so as fas i know, you don't have to have matching items. Our items have been replaced due to a lightning strike

    • us3rnam3tak3n on 25/02/2025 - 19:14

      I have a hybrid inverter with quite limited compatibility. Ymmv

  • defaultess on 24/02/2025 - 09:59
    +2

    The simplest option is to have AC coupled batteries for homes with existing solar / rentals which will work regardless of your Inverter or even if you don't have solar. This will help soak up all the excess solar in the grid and protect against the evening peak.
    The downside of AC coupled is that they can't directly be charged from your panels and are less efficient.

    Residential battery prices should be a lot lower than what they are right now given the wholesale cost has dropped dramatically over the last couple of years. If done properly without gouging we could hopefully get a 10kW battery for that rebate.

  • bobwokeup on 24/02/2025 - 10:44
    +1

    I don’t believe any Labor promises after the last election. Yes they said they weren’t going to sell Western Power but what they failed to tell the public was that they stopped the project to allow us to choose an electricity provider. It wasted millions of taxpayers dollars and I know that most customers, especially on here, would want that choice their electricity provider. He’s now trying to buy votes essentially.

  • Purp on 25/02/2025 - 07:34
    +1

    Obviously buying votes with your own tax money and you have people eating it up like they are doing you a solid……

  • Cluster on 25/02/2025 - 12:10
    +4

    Wasted money. Battery packs are massively overpriced as international battery prices have fallen but solar PV battery makers haven't kept up.

    Wait a few years and you'll get that battery pack $5k cheaper without charging a single dollar to taxpayers.

  • RiseAndRuin on 25/02/2025 - 14:51

    gives us nearly free batteries

    Do you mean he's going to pay with his own money rather than using people's money that were collected through taxes?

  • Gaz1 on 25/02/2025 - 16:17
    -1

    There are so many much more important things he should be doing with that money.

  • SuperMid on 25/02/2025 - 17:26
    -1

    Guaranteed, 99% this will not happen.

    Every single election promise, is always reneged on.

    • us3rnam3tak3n on 25/02/2025 - 19:22
      +1

      That's a high level of confidence. I hope you're wrong.

  • Drakesy on 25/02/2025 - 17:34

    Ghost of daddy marky strikes again.

  • Jozhuang on 25/02/2025 - 19:42
    +1

    These days being politicians is too easy. They don't have to think about how to make money but only spending money can make them elected. 👎

  • RolandWaites on 25/02/2025 - 23:22

    It must be so easy to run a government off multi-billion-dollar resources surpluses and just be able to make these offers to boost your reelection campaign.

    • jackspratt on 25/02/2025 - 23:29

      So long as you don't build in structural deficits - as Lying Little Johnny did earlier this century.

    • us3rnam3tak3n on 26/02/2025 - 18:21

      Isn't it just as easy to run an opposing campaign and make promises regarding the use of that same surplus?

  • LurkingLurker on 26/02/2025 - 11:51
    +1

    I was excited when the announcement first came out cause I wanted to get home batteries for a long time. But from a societal standpoint why should the government give incentives to those who already own a home/investment property that have solar or can afford to have solar. To me it feels like this is quite a selfish way of utilising public funding and it was a promise merely to appease home owners.

    I'd prefer it if they can negotiate lower electricity rates by offering to fund battery infrastructures at a local or regional scale.

    • bobwokeup on 26/02/2025 - 13:56

      Well said, 100% agreed!!! Typical dodgy politicians…

    • us3rnam3tak3n on 26/02/2025 - 18:39

      I agree that more can be done to reduce bills such as allowing competition in the electricity market or taking back full control of the existing monopoly. However they have given electricity rebates (plus free buses, zoo and museum entry) and they are funding battery infrastructures (to futureproof the grid rather than reduce bills).

      Not every promise/policy will advantage every person. Maternity leave is no good to people who aren't having (any more) kids for example.

      As far as I know WA's forays into VPPs have had limited impact and the cost per kWh is very high compared to incentivising end user battery uptake. From a technological standpoint, getting consumers to self-consume more of their production and shift usage times is necessary to ease the pressure on the grid.

      • bobwokeup on 26/02/2025 - 19:11

        Yep like I said in a comment above, I was on the project so that we could choose our own electricity provider and when Labor got in power, yes they didn’t sell Western Power, but what they didn’t tell us was that they would stop that project and waste millions of taxpayers dollars!!!

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