As more Australians opt for apartment living due to rising cost-of-living pressures and city planning priorities, a new report by advocacy group Solar Citizens reveals that most high-rise residents are missing out on the benefits of electrification sweeping through the suburbs.
The Electrify Wolli Creek report investigates the barriers to electrification for approximately half a million people living in apartments and highlights the need for improved planning, regulation, and government support.
Solar Citizens CEO Heidi Lee Douglas touched on the disparity in access to renewable energy solutions, stating: “Australia leads the world in the uptake of rooftop solar, but we are neglecting almost half a million owners and renters of high-rise apartments.”
She added that addressing these barriers is crucial for meeting ambitious emission reduction targets set by state and federal governments.
The report focuses on five key problem areas identified by the Wolli Creek community, a suburb where 98 per cent of residents live in apartment buildings and lack access to renewable energy and clean transport.
These areas include strata and governance issues, rooftop solar installation, understanding electrical supply, electric vehicle charging, and transitioning away from gas.
One of the most striking disparities highlighted in the report is the low adoption rate of rooftop solar in strata schemes.
In 2020, just 0.6 per cent of strata schemes in Greater Sydney had rooftop solar, compared to 21 per cent of residential houses.
This gap is attributed to various challenges faced by high-rise buildings, including limited roof area, increased wind pressure at higher elevations, and longer payback periods.
The report recommends several measures to address these issues, including reviewing strata policies around renewable energy upgrades, expanding the Commonwealth’s Community Solar Banks program to include funding for batteries in apartments, and mandating free energy assessments for apartments and strata schemes.
Electric vehicle charging is another area of concern, with apartment residents facing difficulties in obtaining approval for installation from strata committees and owner corporations.
The report suggests implementing funding programs to install EV chargers in existing apartment buildings and policies to ensure new developments are EV-ready.
Transitioning away from gas is also challenging for apartment dwellers, particularly those in buildings with shared hot water systems or embedded networks.
The report recommends that all new apartments be built without gas connections for hot water, cooking, or heating.
As Australia continues to urbanise and more people move into high-density living arrangements, addressing these electrification barriers becomes increasingly important.
The Solar Citizens report serves as a call to action for policymakers and developers to ensure that the benefits of renewable energy and electrification are accessible to all Australians, regardless of their housing situation.
