A Third of Australian Homes Have Solar. Why Is the U.S. So Far Behind? | Energy on the Ballot

About one in three homes and businesses in Australia have solar on the roof. The state governments there made it simple, with incentives, certified installers, and quick approvals. In the U.S., permits and inspections can add weeks or months before a system is switched on.

This episode’s guest, Audrey Zibelman, has held top energy jobs in both countries. She chaired New York’s Public Service Commission, then ran Australia’s power grid as CEO of the Australian Energy Market Operator.

Now she’s back in New York as its energy czar, chairing the board of NYSERDA, the state energy authority. The job comes with some of the highest home electricity prices in the country and a freeze on the biggest new data centers.

In this episode:

• The conservative prime minister who backed Australia’s grid plan with three words: “Electrons don’t vote”
• How Australia got homeowners to trust a government website to find a solar installer
• The adoption rate at which Australia’s government could stop pushing solar
• What Texas figured out about grid connections while other states keep running pilots
• Why utilities build the grid around its 25 worst hours a year
• The case for data centers small enough to fit on the grid

Links:

Our website: https://www.energyempire.fm

Pew’s distributed energy playbook: https://www.pew.org/-/media/assets/2026/04/distributed-energy-can-unleash-the-resilient-affordable-grid-of-the-future.pdf

New York’s data center Community Investment Framework: https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-hochul-announces-strongest-community-investment-framework-nation-protect-communities

Gov. Spanberger on Making Data Centers Pay Their Fair Share: https://www.energyempire.fm/episodes/gov-spanberger-on-making-data-centers-pay-their-fair-share-energy-on-the-ballot

Balcony Solar Costs $285. Why Is It Still So Hard to Get?: https://www.energyempire.fm/episodes/balcony-solar-costs-285-why-is-it-still-so-hard-to-get