Qld to consider solar buyout for batteries

Queensland's energy minister has defended the state's generous solar bonus scheme, despite considering moves to wind it back.

Mark Bailey on Monday confirmed the government was considering a voluntary buyout of customers in the scheme, which would involve offering a rebate to install a battery storage system in their home if they opted out of the scheme early.

The solar bonus scheme, introduced by the Bligh Labor government in 2008, pays eligible households 44c per kilowatt hour for surplus electricity their solar panels generate, which is fed back into the grid.

The Newman LNP government in 2012 cut the feed-in tariff to eight cents per kilowatt hour given its cost to other power customers, while the Queensland Productivity Commission in February urged the government to wind back the scheme ahead of its 2028 end date.

The government rejected the recommendation, despite the scheme last year adding an extra $89 to the average power bill.

Mr Bailey said the government wasn't considering the battery deal because the scheme was too generous.

"I think the thing you've got to remember about the solar bonus scheme is it was the best picture at the time and what it's meant is that we've got the highest penetration rate of solar PV (photovoltaic panels) in the world here in Queensland," he said.

"That puts us in an incredibly strong position when it comes to the battery revolution that's coming."

The model the government was considering meant customers would be paid 50 per cent of what they'd expect to receive under the scheme until 2028 as a rebate to install a battery system.

Mr Bailey said the government was still committed to having solar panels on a million Queensland rooftops by 2020, but batteries would play an important role in the state's energy mix.

He said batteries were "increasingly getting more economic every day".