{"id":90984,"date":"2025-04-06T06:10:32","date_gmt":"2025-04-05T20:40:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=90984"},"modified":"2025-12-22T10:36:30","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T01:06:30","slug":"labor-home-batteries-mb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/labor-home-batteries-mb\/","title":{"rendered":"Labor Unveils $2.3bn Cheaper Home Batteries Program"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen spruiks Labor’s battery election promise.<\/p><\/div>\n

Federal Labor has vowed to slash the cost of purchasing and installing a new home battery by 30%, under a $2.3 billion plan that forms a key part of its re-election pitch.
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The Cheaper Home Batteries Program<\/a> offers support for “Virtual Power Plant (VPP) ready battery systems” installed alongside new or existing solar panels, capped at one battery per household.<\/p>\n

Labor intends for the subsidy scheme to begin from July this year should the party win the federal election, with batteries between 5-50kWh in capacity eligible for support.<\/p>\n

How Will Labor’s Home Batteries Program Work?<\/h2>\n

The program would be delivered under the longstanding Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES), which already offers subsidies for rooftop solar.<\/p>\n

Depending on uptake, the rate of subsidy can be adjusted annually, with the discount to progressively decline until 2030.<\/p>\n

In addition to residential households, small businesses and community facilities would also be able to access the subsidy.<\/p>\n

Labor claims the discount will work alongside any state schemes<\/a>, although how exactly the proposed program will interact with battery subsidies such as those offered by the NSW<\/a> and WA governments<\/a> is not yet clear.<\/p>\n

Solar battery incentives<\/a> exist in some states\/territories, but the absence of federal support means home batteries have remained out of reach for many Australians due to their current cost.<\/p>\n

Pitching the plan as offering cost-of-living relief, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said:<\/p>\n

“We want to make sure Australians have access to cheaper, cleaner energy. This is good for power bills and good for the environment.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen said:<\/p>\n

“Households and businesses having batteries means we can keep solar energy on tap and keep energy bills down consistently.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A special industry briefing was held by the Smart Energy Council with Bowen this morning. Here’s a very quick summary of what we learned:<\/p>\n