A NEW campaign wanting a rebate to halve the price of any household battery has been welcomed by a peak agriculture environmental group that wants the deal extended to include farms. Farmers for Climate Action (FCA), representing more than 8400 members, has welcomed a new campaign asking for half-price household batteries, and called for the plan to be offered to farmers. The campaign 'It’s time to back batteries' was launched by the Clean Energy Council on Tuesday, 18 March and promotes 'huge' electricity bill savings for owners of household batteries to help ease the cost of living and increase energy independence. The campaign calls for a $6500 rebate, which is about half the investment required for a good-sized home battery. FCA spokesperson and farmer Peter Holding said the campaign aligns with the position FCA has been advocating for farmers. “Households are facing increases in the cost of living, and farmers are shouldering increases in the cost of growing our food,” Mr Holding said. “Don’t forget farmers - let’s back half-price batteries for farms too. "We know rebates are more effective than no-interest loans - the data from Victoria and South Australia is very clear (on this)." Mr Holding said it took about ten years for a battery to pay for itself through any energy bill savings it generated and said he wanted that payback period to be halved so more farmers will invest in them. “Farmers can host bigger batteries which have a bigger benefit to the grid and to local energy security. “Farm batteries help reduce farm costs, and that can put downward pressure on food prices. "Let’s offer some respite, so that farmers don’t fall into further financial stress.” The FCA is also seeking as part of its election wish list, for farmers to be able to use clean energy generated on one of their properties on a different property they owned.(Currently, farmers are limited to use energy only at the property it was generated on.) The organisation also seeks much-needed upgrades to local poles and wires to allow country communities to participate in the nation's energy shift.
