Federal Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen provided an update yesterday on solar battery uptake numbers under the Albanese Government’s Cheaper Home Batteries (CHB) program.
How Many Home Batteries Have Been Installed Under CHB?
Minister Bowen said 95,000 batteries representing close to two gigawatt-hours of storage capacity have been installed in three and half months under the CHB initiative, which suggests an average capacity of 21 kWh1.
While the program formally launched on July 1 this year, some batteries had been installed but not commissioned for a couple of months prior to that date for eligibility reasons, and those that have since would be included in the total.
“We’ve seen the greatest uptake in outer suburban and regional areas, particularly in Queensland and South Australia,” the Minister said in his address to the AFR Climate and Energy Summit in Sydney yesterday.
Bowen pointed out that home battery uptake benefits all Australians — not only those who’ve installed a residential storage system. Storing surplus solar energy generated during the day assists in:
- Putting downward pressure on evening peak electricity prices through reduced mains grid demand.
- Reducing network infrastructure costs.
- Increasing utilisation of networks.
- Flattening the load profile over an average day, lowering hedging costs for electricity retailers.
- Mitigating the risk of costly interventions by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) to manage minimum operational demand risks in the middle of the day.
How Much Is The Battery Rebate In 2025, And In 2026?
Like the hugely popular national solar panel rebate, the CHB also operates under Australia’s Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES); reducing each year on January 1 at this point for batteries.
The battery rebate (actually an up-front discount) is based on Small-scale Technology Certificates (STCs), which have a market value — generally around $36 each after admin fees and charges. An eligible battery receives around $338 rebate per kilowatt-hour of useable capacity in 2025, working out to be approximately a 30% discount on the upfront cost of installing. Systems installed from January 1, 2026 will receive around $302 discount per useable kilowatt-hour after admin fees.
So, (for example):
- An eligible 10 kWh battery installed in 2025 = 93 STCs = ~$3,350 discount
- An eligible 10 kWh battery installed in 2026 = 84 STCs = ~$3,020 discount
Households interested in taking advantage of the incentive might be hard-pressed to have a battery installed this year unless it has already been arranged, as many installers are flat out. But a rushed purchase decision can sometimes be the wrong one and the situation provides an opportunity to take a deep breath and research home batteries thoroughly before buying, ready for installation (hopefully) early next year.
Read further information on solar and battery rebates in 2026 here, and a full explainer of the Cheaper Home Batteries program here.
Electricity Reforms In The Pipeline
In other comments relating to home electrification and residential electricity prices, Minister Bowen said the Government has “plenty of work underway” for its National Consumer Energy Resources Roadmap, part of the Government’s broader reform process.
Concerning potential reforms to the Default Market Offer (DMO), consultation has been completed and he will be announcing next steps in the weeks ahead.
The DMO is meant to act as a safety net for customers who don’t choose a market electricity plan (which are usually cheaper). While a minority of Australian households are on such plans, the DMO sets the scene for market offer pricing. When DMO plan pricing goes up, others are likely to as well. The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEW) is aiming to “strike a fair balance” between protecting customers and keeping incentives for electricity retailers to compete through the reforms.
Tackling Renewable Target Naysayers
The Albanese Government is shooting for 82% of Australia’s electricity to be generated from renewable energy sources by 2030.
Highlighting the success of the solar battery program was just one of the Minister’s many talking points in his speech. He said the Federal government, “most states”2, businesses and households are “getting on with the job” with the shift to renewables and electrification.
Some say the target can’t be reached.
“It can. It’s not inevitable, it’s not easy. In fact it’s a stretch, as it was intended to be,” said Bowen. “But those who sit around in 2025 and say ‘it’s all too hard and we should give up’ are, with respect, just plain wrong.”
The Minister’s address to AFR Climate and Energy Summit can be viewed in full here.
Footnotes
- Up until July, the average nominal capacity of fully-commissioned home batteries was around 11 – 12 kWh. In July, that jumped to 18.2 kWh, and appears to have continued increasing based on Bowen’s numbers. ↩
- Likely a swipe at Queensland, which is now potentially locked into expensive, filthy coal-fired power generation for decades to come after the Crisafulli Government’s Queensland Energy Roadmap was recently released; making the national target more challenging to achieve. ↩
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