WA Home Battery Rebate Is A Hit …And Miss

Figures released by Western Australia’s Cook Government indicate the WA residential battery rebate has been popular. But more than half of buyers appear to be foregoing it or otherwise missing out.

How Many Home Batteries Have Been Installed In WA?

Since the program’s formal launch on July 1, 2025, more than 4,500 solar batteries have been installed under the WA Residential Battery Scheme according to a state government announcement released yesterday afternoon.

Furthermore, the program has received more than 18,000 applications since July 1. No further information on the status of those applications (such as pending, rejections and abandonment) was provided.

That’s a big difference in numbers and another government announcement back in late August indicated more than 5,500 systems were supposedly “already on their way to installation”.

Commenting on the installation figures, WA Energy and Decarbonisation and Manufacturing Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said:

“Our Residential Battery Scheme is the best in Australia, delivering real, ongoing cost-of-living relief through reduced power bills by enabling households to store and use more of their solar energy.”

Harshing The Cook Government’s Battery Rebate Buzz

Claiming the scheme is “the best” may be true, but is setting a very low bar in terms of state-based battery rebate programs as there’s no competition¹.

The WA home battery rebate offers up to $1,300 for Synergy customers ($130 per kWh of capacity up to 10 kWh) and up to $3,800 for Horizon Power customers ($380 per kWh of capacity up to 10 kWh) for approved systems.

One of the catches is connection to a VPP (Virtual Power Plant) is compulsory, and WA residents aren’t exactly spoiled for choice of VPPs at the moment.

On the plus side, the WA scheme is stackable with the federal government’s very generous Cheaper Home Batteries Program (CHBP) rebate². But the WA incentive’s VPP requirement and other issues such as slow equipment approvals and related gotchas have been deal-breakers for some buyers, who have opted to just grab the national subsidy instead. Then there would no doubt be some who have decided not to bother with an installation at all.

Let’s take a look at the CHBP numbers to see what’s been happening there and how both compare.

According to Clean Energy Regulator (CER) data updated on 14 November 2025 and current to 31 October 2025, 10,575 batteries had been installed and commissioned in Western Australia since July 1 this year. That’s around 6,000 more batteries installed only with CHBP support.

The WA program is funded to support up to 100,000 installations. At this rate, it will take quite a while to reach that number. It’s a very different story for the national incentive, but we’ll have more on that soon³.

Looking at the bigger picture, it’s still a very good news story in that home batteries are being embraced in Western Australia regardless of the state program’s issues. And there’s a huge potential market, with more than 550,000 solar power systems installed across the state to date.

To discover everything you need to know about residential energy storage, including rebates, see SolarQuotes’ home battery guide.

Local Battery Manufacturing Program Launch

In other energy storage related news out of Western Australia, the Cook Government has also announced the state’s $50 million Local Battery Manufacturing Program is now accessible.

Local manufacturers of residential batteries and components can access $30 million in grants in total (maximum grant: $5 million) to grow their capacity. Grants need to be matched dollar-for-dollar by the proponent.

The program has two streams for grants.

• Production-Ready: up to $100,000 in matched funding for feasibility studies, prototype development and testing and accreditation.
• Production Scale-Up: up to $5 million in matched funding for existing battery manufacturers to expand their operations.

As well as the residential sector, the program will support qualifying industrial and commercial projects. The package also includes $20 million for low-interest loans; applications for which are to open before the end of the year.

“Now, we’re extending our support to manufacturers so that local businesses can also be involved,” said WA Premier Roger Cook. “This builds on my government’s efforts to decarbonise and diversify WA’s economy, including through the State Development Bill, and will help our State become a place that makes more things here.”