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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2018-11-14 Daily Xml
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Home Battery Scheme

Mr COWDREY (Colton) (14:55): My question is to the Minister for Energy and Mining. Can the minister update the house on the local partnerships and opportunities being created by the Home Battery Scheme?

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN (Stuart—Minister for Energy and Mining) (14:55): Thank you, member for Colton, who again, like other members on the government side, takes a deep interest in this. Members are familiar with the program; I won't go through the details of it again.

The member asked specifically about local partnerships, which are very important. The Marshall Liberal government is trying to get as much value as possible for all South Australians through this Home Battery Scheme. It is one of the reasons why, through the Home Battery Scheme, we are offering higher subsidies for lower income households. We think that is very fair. The households on lower incomes typically deserve a bit more support, so we are offering $500 per kilowatt hour capacity for the battery for most households and offering $600 per kilowatt hour capacity for those households that have an energy concession.

In that same spirit, we were very happy to hear that Alpha ESS, one of the priority partners, as I just described in my last answer, is partnering with Minda to assemble their battery. They have qualified to be a priority partner and reap the benefits of the early period by virtue of the fact that they are going to have their batteries assembled immediately here in South Australia and then manufactured here from the middle of next year.

Isn't it outstanding that Minda will partner with Alpha ESS? Not only will we have local economic boosts and additional jobs here in South Australia that didn't exist before, not only do we look forward to the benefit of 100 to 120 jobs from the middle of next year when they start their manufacturing, but immediately people working at Minda, an outstanding organisation that supports people with a range of particular challenges in their lives who might find it difficult to get employment in the mainstream market opportunities, will be involved in assembling these Alpha ESS batteries.

I think it is a great credit to the company forming that partnership here in South Australia. It is really wonderful. Just as we have offered a greater subsidy to lower income households, they are offering additional employment to people who find it more difficult than most to find employment. It is truly outstanding. Our other priority partner, Sonnen, the German company, are setting up their manufacturing facility in Elizabeth on the site of the old Holden factory, and they are actually employing 400 people, perhaps up to 450 people, over the next period as they ramp up. Many of them will be very highly skilled, capable, motivated, local former GMH workers.

I think this is another outstanding partnership that is being formed out of our Home Battery Scheme in addition to the core priorities of reducing electricity prices and making it more affordable. To have people working at Minda being given greater opportunities, to have people who formerly worked at GMH and, of course, many other people from around metropolitan Adelaide, and primarily from the northern suburbs and the Elizabeth area, being given new and greater employment opportunities as one of the many additional benefits that we always intended to deliver through the Home Battery Scheme is truly outstanding for the people of South Australia. We also intend, in the spirit of the question from the member for Colton, to develop a very positive productive supply chain, which will contribute to our economy enormously over the next decade or two.

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