I read a recent PV Magazine article about the German grocery chain Aldi providing, in Australia, a 6.6kW solar, 5kW inverter, 10kWh (or 20kWh) battery system installed for $6,999 ($4,610 USD, 3,965 Euro).

I spent a fun hour this morning asking Gemini various questions about this system.

Estimated factory cost of goods in US$: 10 kWh Battery System: ~$800; 5.5 kW Hybrid Inverter: ~$550; 6.6 kW Solar Panels: $594; Balance-of-System (BOS): $660; Total hardware: $2,604 USD.

For the average Australian single family residence, what is the anticipated payback time: 2.5 to 4 years.

For a household with an EV but no solar (residential charging to be added): 2.8 years.

For a household about to buy an EV, trading in a gasoline car: 1.67 years --$2,000 (from not buying gasoline) + $2,200 (from not buying electricity for the home) = $4,200 AUD per year

If Aldi or similar system installed on all Australian single family residences, what percentage of total electricity generation would that represent? 26%-28% of final demand.

How much gasoline would be saved with 100% Aldi system + 100% EV for single family residences, and what percentage of AU fossil fuel use would that be, and counting displaced fossil electricity generation, what total percentage would be displaced? 67.5 TWh equivalent gasoline: 4.2% of AU energy supply; 42.75 TWh Fossil Fuel Electricity Displaced: 2.6%; Total: 6.8% of AU energy supply.

Note that the Aldi price is underwritten to a significant degree by government rebates which Aldi would collect: Solar Panel Rebate (SRES): ~ $2,145 AUD and Battery Rebate: ~ $2,500 AUD, for Total Combined Rebates: ~ $4,645 AUD. There would be an additional $2,500 AUD for the 20kWh version.

This total price of $11,650 AUD or $14,150 (20kWh) is still far below the price of a comparable system in the U.S. or Canada--probably one-third or one-quarter of the price.

If I had a suitable roof (which I don't), I would happily pay an unsubsidized $9,500 USD for a similar system. Payback time would be a lot longer because of $.125/kWh U.S. price for electricity in Florida (compared to $.40 AUD -> $.265 USD).

The Aldi system includes blackout protection, so it will continue to supply the residence with power if the main electricity grid goes down. I'd pay a good bit for that feature alone.

Maximum subsidies for 20kWh system for all 7.5 million AU single family residences would be around $54 billion AUD. Annual saving in oil and gasoline imports if all of those residences had an EV with residential charging would be ~$50 billion.

~
Edited 2025-09-14 01:20 by lizby