{"id":96518,"date":"2025-12-11T05:00:47","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T19:30:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=96518"},"modified":"2025-12-16T09:27:35","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T23:57:35","slug":"home-battery-rebate-changes-mb3332","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/home-battery-rebate-changes-mb3332\/","title":{"rendered":"Runaway Home Battery Rebate Forces Rethink"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Australian<\/p>\n

The success of the Albanese Government’s home battery rebate is piling pressure on the program’s funding and policy settings. A Smart Energy Council meeting yesterday tackled what could be needed to keep it going until its originally intended end date.<\/p>\n

How Much Cheaper Home Batteries Funding Is Available?<\/h2>\n

The Cheaper Home Batteries Program<\/a> (CHBP) was originally launched with a commitment to $2.3 billion in funding. Given the massive uptake, recently updated SolarQuotes analysis indicates that could run out in early June next year<\/a>; well before the program’s 2030 end. However, Smart Energy Council<\/a> CEO John Grimes recently pointed out the program is uncapped.<\/p>\n

“That means $2.3 billion is the first payment, not the last payment,” he said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But a blank check under current settings and consumer response isn’t realistic either.<\/p>\n

UPDATE: an additional $4.9bn has been allocated to the scheme, along with a host of rule changes. Read a full rundown here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Big Batteries Blowing Budget<\/h2>\n

It’s not just the huge number of systems being installed creating pressure on the battery rebate \u2014 it’s their capacity, as useable capacity is tied to the level of rebate provided.<\/p>\n

In a Smart Energy Council member meeting yesterday discussing the issues \u2014 attended by SolarQuotes Editor Max Opray<\/a> and resident fact-checker Ronald Brakels<\/a> \u2014 the organisation’s Chief Advocacy Officer David McElrea said the average battery size installed since October is probably around 28 kWh. That’s a big jump compared to installations last year that averaged 10 – 12 kWh.<\/p>\n

“More and more batteries are larger sizes,” he said. “This is not a bad thing in and of itself \u2026 for the network, provided the inverter is the right size and there\u2019s the right number of solar panels, large batteries could provide that broad stability. But from the federal government\u2019s perspective, they\u2019re paying an increased amount out-of-pocket for larger batteries. It\u2019s clear they didn\u2019t anticipate battery size would increase as quickly as it has.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And obviously neither did the Smart Energy Council, which has played an important role in advising the government on the design and implementation of the CHBP.<\/p>\n

\u201cAustralia is now the largest residential battery market in the world, thanks to the government\u2019s foresight.\u201d said Nigel Morris, Smart Energy Council Chief Strategy Officer. “Uptake of the program exceeded everybody\u2019s wildest and most optimistic projections \u2026 placing obvious pressure on project funding.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Home<\/p>\n

What Does The Smart Energy Council Want?<\/h2>\n

The Smart Energy Council said its priorities for the scheme are:<\/p>\n