More Australian households and businesses are seeking to leave the electricity grid altogether due to increasing power costs, regular outages and a desire to be more sustainable.
New data released today by SolarPlus, a decade-long industry leader in solar design software, revealed solar and battery installers were being asked to quote on significantly more off-grid systems, particularly over the past four years.
SolarPlus Managing Director, Laurie Kane, said more than 3,400 quotes had been sought for completely off-grid home and business energy systems (an increase of 1547%) between 2020 and 2024.
SolarPlus software is used by thousands of solar and battery installers across Australia to design and quote households and businesses to switch to renewable energy and lower or eliminate their electricity costs.
“The rising cost of electricity tariffs and the cost of connecting the grid to new properties – especially in regional areas – has resulted in many households and businesses looking for alternatives to grid connected electricity,” Mr Kane said.
“Electricity prices across south-east Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia have risen by an average of 20-25% in the past 12-18 months*. In parallel, it’s also becoming less viable for people to export their surplus renewable energy back into the grid – making grid connected power a less attractive option for many households and businesses,” he said.
Mr Kane, who along with Solar Plus Co-Founder Glen Morris live off-grid, said as capital city suburbs expanded and rent on commercial space close to the city continued to rise, businesses were also looking at going completely off-grid as a viable option to power their commercial activities.
“Over the past 4 years, we’ve seen 441% increase in commercial off-grid quotes generated in the SolarPlus software by Australian installers alone. This growth has come from more businesses seeking cheaper land in regional areas, but finding themselves facing excessive connection fees, expensive electricity rates and an unstable supply of power. For many of these businesses, it’s just too great of a risk,” Mr Kane said.
Luke Shavak from Castlemaine. Image by Kate Deagan.
For Luke Shavak, a resident in Victoria’s regional town of Castlemaine, the reason to go completely off-grid was driven by sustainability and electricity independence, as well as cost savings.
“During the upheaval of the COVID-19 period, we started seeking ways to live more independently of big corporations and government in all areas of our lives, including in the supply of electricity. It seemed to us that the cost of electricity was continually rising and the energy industry appeared slow to shift to renewables,” Mr Shavak said.
“We had the option of connecting our smaller home to grid power, but installing a solar and battery system with a small generator for back-up, gave our family independence in a way that fitted in with our desire to live a more sustainable, independent lifestyle,” he said.
*ABC News, June 30, 2023.
ABOUT SOLARPLUS
Founded in 2011 by Chairman Glen Morris and Managing Director Laurie Kane, SolarPlus was established in partnership with the Smart Energy Council – Australia’s independent body for the smart energy industry. SolarPlus is a complete solar design software platform used by over 1,700 solar sales companies who have quoted over 450,000 systems, worth over $4 billion.
ABOUT THE FOUNDERS
Laurie Kane has a background in solar online training, having developed solar best practice training courses, managed a national solar inspection program, and IT systems for the Australian Solar Council. He is also an enthusiastic proponent of clean technology and making solar energy more accessible globally.
Glen Morris has worked in the renewable energy industry for 30 years, designing and installing on and off-grid systems. He has been the Smart Energy Council’s vice president and their representative on the industry’s Standards Committee. For the past five years, Glen has focused his business on training, moving to online courses and live streaming tech talks. He regularly shares his knowledge of the solar industry with SolarPlus employees and customers.
