Giant boost for home batteries
A new cost-saving scheme aims to leverage soaring solar adoption in Australian homes by slashing battery installation costs.
A new government scheme to make home battery storage more affordable for Australians has received wide-ranging support.
The $2.3 billion Cheaper Home Batteries Program aims to make batteries cheaper to install for households, community organisations and small businesses allowing them to store the solar power they generate when the sun is out.
The recent announcement from the Albanese Government comes as battery uptake lags behind Australia’s soaring solar adoption. While one in three homes are estimated to have rooftop solar, only one in forty currently have battery storage.
With a proposed launch date of 1 July 2025, the subsidy is expected to slash battery installation prices by around 30 per cent — shaving roughly $4000 off the cost of a typical home battery.
Government modelling suggests the program will also ease pressure on the national grid by reducing peak demand, thereby helping to lower prices for all consumers.
"As climate impacts hit harder, parents are looking for control, stability, and a safe future for their kids."
Renew Australia for All, a broad coalition of organisations campaigning for a more secure energy future, welcomed the announcement.
Amanda McKenzie, Climate Council CEO, said: “Australians have been crying out for cost-of-living relief, and this policy would permanently lower people’s power bills.
“We have already been voting with our rooftops, and polling shows that one in two Aussies also want to install home batteries too.”
Parents for Climate CEO, Nic Seton said the program was just what families needed right now.
“As climate impacts hit harder, parents are looking for control, stability, and a safe future for their kids,” he said.
“Batteries are a game-changer for household energy independence. But this must be just the start—every family, no matter their postcode or income, deserves access to clean, reliable energy.”
More than one million new battery installations are forecast by 2030 under the initiative which forms part of Labor’s broader strategy to help households tap into clean energy and ease reliance on the grid.
The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water said that while households with existing rooftop solar could shave up to $1,100 off their power bill every year, those also installing a battery system could save up to $2,300 a year – about 90 per cent of a typical family electricity bill.”
In contrast, Labor says the Opposition’s proposed $600 billion nuclear energy plan would “drive up household energy bills by up to $1,200”.
Under the scheme, households, small businesses and community organisations would be able to purchase a battery with a 30 per cent discount on installed costs – saving around $4000 on a typical home battery. The addition of battery storage would enable them to reduce reliance on the grid and make better use of the energy they generate from solar panels, slashing their power bills by up to 90 per cent. The subsidy will be delivered through the existing Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme – the same program that delivers solar subsidies.
