Aussie schools set for solar-plus-storage makeover under Labor pledge

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Proposals on PV and battery storage emerge weeks before Australia elects a new prime minister (Credit: Pixabay)

Australia’s Labor has pushed the solar industry into the election campaign spotlight vowing to turn thousands of schools into virtual power plants.

The programme unveiled this week by opposition leader Bill Shorten would invest AU$1 billion (US$704 million) to add 364MW of solar and battery storage across 4,000 schools, starting with a few frontrunners.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

The so-called Solar Schools initiative would be funded via the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, a state-owned green bank created when Labor was last in power in the early 2010s.

Backed by concessional loans from the body, schools would roll out new PV and battery systems or renovate existing installations. The excess power produced would feed into the grid, unlocking a new revenue stream for the centres.

PV soars ahead of May election

The proposal sees PV and storage climb positions as a campaign issue just a few weeks before Australia elects a new prime minister, via federal parliamentary polls on 18 May.

Schools, Labor said as it defended its plan, represent a “perfect” solar-plus-battery environment as they tend to be vacant precisely when demand is higher. For each centre, the overall power bill savings could reach up to AU$120,000 (US$84,456), the party estimated.

For its part, the ruling centre-right coalition chose in recent hours to cast doubts on Shorten’s green proposals. Although he didn’t mention the schools plan specifically, liberal MP and energy minister Angus Taylor said on Twitter: “Labor says it’s impossible to tell us the costs of its climate policies. If you don’t know the costs, you can’t afford Bill Shorten.”

The electoral contest comes as Australian PV grows exponentially, with IRENA stats finding a major capacity jump (5.9GW to 9.76GW) between 2017 and 2018. Based on official stats, rooftop remains the top renewable employer but large-scale projects are starting to catch up.

See here for more information on Labor's Solar Schools proposal

Read Next

September 5, 2025
Research firm Rystad Energy has found that Queensland’s utility-scale solar PV power plants have dominated the best-performing assets, in terms of AC capacity factor, rankings for August 2025.
September 4, 2025
ARENA has launched the second funding round of its AU$1 billion Solar Sunshot programme, making AU$150 million available.
September 3, 2025
India has added 2.8GW of rooftop solar in H1 2025, a 158% year-on-year surge from just 1.1GW in the same period last year.
Premium
September 2, 2025
In August 2025, the final month of Australia’s winter, utility-scale and rooftop solar PV generation in the National Electricity Market (NEM) saw a dramatic 22.5% month-on-month increase to 3,338GWh.
September 1, 2025
Australia’s National Electricity Market (NEM) hit a record high for the combined utility-scale solar PV and wind share in the electricity mix on 30 August.
August 31, 2025
Renewables developer and independent power producer (IPP) TagEnergy has acquired Australian developer ACE Power, adding 6GW of renewable energy and storage projects to its portfolio.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece
Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
October 2, 2025
London,UK
Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
Manila, Philippines