Labor is investing $100 million to deliver an initial 85 solar banks around Australia, giving over 25,000 households that are unable to install rooftop solar, access to cheaper energy.

The success of this initiative will spark additional private investment to deliver solar to even more homes.

One in four Australian households now have rooftop solar.

This uptake is truly remarkable, and a credit to families and households across the country.

It’s the kind of proud national achievement that’s possible when technology enabling policy – like Powering Australia - is implemented by a government with ambition and vision.

Unfortunately 1 in 3 Australians are ‘locked out’ of rooftop solar, unable to install panels and reap the benefits of cleaner, cheaper energy in their household bills.

This includes renters, apartment-dwellers, people who can’t afford upfront solar costs, and those whose homes just aren’t compatible.

Community solar banks, allowing those locked out of the market to access solar energy, have been popping up around the world and meeting this challenge for over a decade, including in over 40 U.S. states.

An ARENA funded UTS study said they were both ‘feasible and desirable’ in the Australian context.

Labor’s investment gives solar banks the kickalong they need, just like Labor’s initiatives like the RET and ARENA set rooftop solar on its remarkable trajectory.