In a bid to fight rising residential electricity prices, Australia’s fastest growing community Woodlea is launching a first of its kind smart solar package across its townhouse offering, empowering residents to save up to 80 per cent on electricity bills. 

Woodlea is a 6,500-lot fully integrated master planned community across 711 hectares, delivered by ASX listed Mirvac and Victoria Investments and Properties (VIP).

Mirvac will be offering world class solar panels and batteries valued at $20,000 at no extra cost to purchasers of Mirvac-designed townhomes. 

According to Australian Energy Regulator Ausgrid Network, residential electricity prices have doubled over the last 10 years, causing a strain on the average household budget. 

Upon completion, Woodlea will be home to over 20,000 residents, with the initial solar pilot to include a limited number of townhouses, if successful this number is expected to encompass the majority of townhouses to be developed.

These homes will save on average 80 per cent on electricity costs, with some potentially never receiving another power bill again. 

Woodlea Project Director, Matthew Dean said the initiative is a huge step in the right direction. 

“Rising electricity costs is a concern for Victorians state-wide and although solar usage is on the rise, it’s not attainable for all households due to the hefty up front cost of installation," said Mr Dean. 

“We’re aiming to unlock these benefits for everyday Australians by essentially offering a $20,000 smart solar package as standard across our Mirvac townhouse offering. 

Mirvac’s smart solar system includes a 5.1kW solar panel system, 10kW battery and 5kW inverter.

The system will provide households with web-enabled system monitoring, so the household can understand their energy generation and consumption from the solar system and the grid.

The system is planned to provide annual savings to households of $1,620 on average per year. 

By understanding and learning a household’s energy use pattern, the system can be smart about when to store solar power and when to sell surplus solar back to the grid. 

According to consultancy Green Energy Markets, solar installations in Victoria have surged 90 per cent following the introduction of the state government’s incentive scheme. 

Melbourne’s West, in particular, is leading the charge with some of the most solar-friendly suburbs including Burnside and Williams Landing, where one in three homes are already solar-powered. 

These solar-focused homes are the first to be delivered as part of CEFC’s $90 million debt commitment to Mirvac.

CEFC CEO Ian Learmonth said that the investment was designed to help battery storage technology gain traction in Australia.

"We are pleased that Mirvac is including these technologies as standard inclusions in these new homes so that Australian families can have greater control over their energy consumption and their carbon footprint from the day they move in," said Mr Learmonth.

Woodlea will launch its first solar townhouse release in early 2020.

For more information on Woodlea, please visit www.woodlea.com.au

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