Tradies of the 2515 electrification shift — such as AG Solar’s Trent Amber — are enjoying their part in the Electrify 2515 pilot. Photo: Electrify 2515.
Dr Saul Griffith himself — co-founder of Rewiring Australia and Australia’s electrification evangelist – once described tradies as “the true heroes of the energy transition”.
“At the end of the day, climate action involves calling in a tradie to make a modification to a house,” he said.
He’s not wrong. Before smart devices and induction cooktops were in our homes, they were in the hands of local tradies.
In the northern Illawarra, the Electrify 2515 pilot has given tradespeople an unprecedented role in proving that whole suburb electrification isn’t just possible — it’s already underway.
Coledale-based AG Solar director Trent Amber has been on the frontline of the program, and for him, the pilot has been both a challenge and an opportunity.
“We’re primarily a solar company, but through the Electrify 2515 pilot, we’ve done dozens of installations from induction cooktops to split-system air conditioners and hot water systems,” he said.
“We also install a Home Energy Management System for every pilot participant, which allows them to monitor and control loads in the home, down to specific circuits and even appliances.”
The pilot’s timing has also been fortuitous. Many solar installers outside the pilot have had a quiet period while customers waited for rebates and sunnier days.
Electrify 2515 injected new demand at just the right moment.
“It’s been good to have that influx of work, especially in the middle of the year when there was not much solar happening,” Trent said. “Of course, it’s the other way around now — renewables are exploding and we have a lot of work.”
But the pilot has been good for tradie upskilling and diversification as well, pushing contractors into less familiar territory.
A cooktop swap might sound simple, for instance, but in practice, it can mean carefully patching benchtops or reconfiguring circuits to make the new unit fit.
“Sometimes you have to think outside the box,” Trent said. “It’s good for us to put our hand up and be involved in those trickier jobs we normally would not tackle.”
But Trent said the bigger picture was about more than just keeping local tradies busy. It was about building the case for electrification across Australia.
“I live in Coledale, and I am really proud to be part of a project that’s going to prove to the rest of the country that you can electrify a suburb and it will work,” he said.
Trent hopes that as the pilot continues to roll out, it will put to bed a persistent question: will the energy grid supporting the postcode have what it takes to handle a fully electric 2515?
Community members have raised concerns about too much pressure on the grid, leading to increased blackouts or brownouts.
“That would’ve been a valid point five years ago, but where we are with battery storage, we are relieving stress on the grid at such a fast pace, it won’t be a problem,” Trent said.
“We’re installing 20 to 30 kWh storage in 20 homes a week. At some point in the not-too-distant future, most households will have some kind of solar and storage system.”
For Trent, the outcome of the pilot feels inevitable.
“Electrify 2515 is great for our community,” he said. “Given the people involved and the way it’s been run, it can’t not succeed. And when it does succeed, and we show others it can be done, that will be a great moment — one I’ll be really proud to have been a part of.”
For more information, visit Electrify 2515.
