Rooftop solar could slash up to $130 million a year from energy bills for childcare centres

Federal and state governments could help the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector save up to $130 million annually in energy bills with the installation of rooftop solar and batteries, protecting early childhood centres from future energy price rises and reducing financial pressures on services and families, analysis from Parents for Climate has found. 

Depending on the location, childcare centres spent an estimated 14.7 per cent to 28.9 per cent more on energy bills in 2023 compared to the previous year, driving up costs for families already facing a well-documented cost of living crisis. 

Childcare in Australia is more costly than in most other OECD countries. In 2022, an Australian couple on average wages with two children spent 16 per cent of their net household income on net childcare costs, compared to the OECD average of 9 per cent.  

“Our analysis shows that while a small number of centres are already installing solar and saving money, the vast majority lack the capacity to access clean energy upgrades,” said Parents for Climate chief executive officer, Nic Seton.

“Most centres simply don’t have the time and expertise to navigate the options without assistance, and many cite initial costs as a further obstacle,” said Seton. 

At stake is an average saving of $12,400 to $14,600 per year in energy bills for early childhood centres if governments were to expand existing rooftop solar and battery installation support for state schools to the ECEC sector. 

The New South Wales and Queensland governments are piloting programs in state schools to install air conditioning powered by rooftop solar, but the ECEC sector enjoys no such targeted support.

According to Climate Energy Finance founder and director Tim Buckley, “A full rollout of solar on schools and early childhood centres would be the largest renewables project in Australia’s history, providing distribution-level grid stability opportunities, particularly as battery systems become more cost competitive.

“The rooftop solar potential of the early childhood and school sectors should be a key part of the national effort to at least treble the existing 20GW of cumulative rooftop solar capacity to the 60GW target for the NEM by 2040 (and 85GW by 2050 or 100GW including Western Australia and the Northern Territory) as modelled in the Australian Energy Market Operator’s Integrated System Plan.” 

“We also know that more affordable clean energy solutions like rooftop solar would increase access to air conditioning and a safer environment for babies and young children who are more susceptible to heat-related illness,” said Seton. 

“And more support for rooftop solar installation would reduce social inequity by providing solutions to reduce operating costs in lower socio-economic areas.” 

Parents for Climate highlights other benefits from governments supporting rooftop solar and batteries in schools and the ECEC sector, including more than 6,000 renewable energy jobs across Australia, cutting 1.35 million tonnes of carbon emissions a year, and contributing to the Australian Government’s goal of generating 82 per cent of our power from renewable energy. 

BACKGROUND:

Parents for Climate’s Solar Our Learning - Saving Millions for the Early Learning Sector report consulted a wide range of ECEC centres. Many services named financial viability as an important issue. For example, KU Children’s Services, a not-for-profit providing early childhood education and care to more than 10,000 children across 126 centres spread throughout New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory, Victoria and Queensland, is operating in deficit for the first time in its 128-year history.

The Solar Our Learning report follows Parents for Climate’s Solar Our Schools campaign - a stimulus proposal in response to the economic downturn caused by the COVID pandemic. More than 12,000 parents mobilised, signed petitions, and spoke to the media and members of parliament. Subsequently, state government programs were announced in NSW, Tasmania and WA. In 2020, the New South Wales Government announced the Smart Energy Schools Pilot Project with an initial investment of $20 million; and in 2021 the Western Australian Government established a $44.6 million Schools Clean Energy Technology Fund, and the Tasmanian Government created its $5 million Renewable Energy Schools Fund. There are other similar programs in Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, the ACT and Northern Territory.