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‘Off like a rocket’: Battery rebate prompts massive rooftop power surge
The federal government’s home battery rebate has proved so popular it is adding the equivalent to South Australia’s big battery to the grid every 8.7 days.
It is projected to lift renewable energy’s share of power supply by 4.5 per cent above current Australian Energy Market Operator estimates by 2030 and by 9 per cent by 2035.
Allan Lancaster had a battery installed at home in Truganina, Melbourne, after the rebates began.Credit: Arron Francis
Since the government’s Cheaper Home Battery Program began at the start of July, Australian households have been installing 15 megawatt hours’ worth of batteries per day, or about five times more than were added on the average day in 2024, and 2.7 times higher than AEMO had previously projected we would be adding in 2035.
“It’s adding the equivalent to South Australia’s Hornsdale big battery every 8.7 days,” said Tristan Edis, director of Green Energy Markets, which conducted the research for the Australian Conservation Foundation and the Smart Energy Council.
The surge of new clean power will support additional solar that will cut Australia’s overall greenhouse gas emissions by 3.4 per cent by 2035 – equivalent to around 21 million tonnes of carbon dioxide – helping the government meet a new emissions reduction target it is expected announce in coming weeks.
The new batteries will cut 10 per cent in emissions from the electricity sector compared to 2005 levels.
“[Battery sales] have taken off like a rocket,” he said.
According to Edis, the incredible popularity of the rebates suggests that householders who had previously installed solar systems but had not taken the next step of buying a battery were frustrated at seeing the payments they had been receiving for the power they generated shrink over the years.
Under the scheme, the cost of a typical home battery system has fallen by around 30 per cent, and householders have leapt at the opportunity to use more of the power they generate themselves and to sell excess for higher prices at peak hour.
Edis said the rapid surge showed how the solar and battery industry was able to quickly scale up its operations, suggesting that households could play a larger role in the broader energy transition.
“The capacity for the industry to go from zero to hero is quite rapid because these systems are pretty straightforward to install. We’ve seen that obviously with rooftop solar systems, but we’ve also seen it with air-conditioners, for example, in Victoria replacing gas central heaters.
“You don’t need swarms of lawyers, merchant bankers, accountants, environmental planning, people, community consultation, all the things that go into building large-scale renewables. You don’t need any approvals. You don’t need any engineers, you just need your local sparky.”
Australian Conservation Foundation CEO Kelly O’Shanassy said the surge suggested the government could pursue an ambitious emissions reduction target for 2035.
“With existing state and territory action expected to deliver emissions cuts of between 66 per cent and 71 per cent by 2035, these findings show the Albanese government should be striving for a science-aligned target of 80 per cent by 2035,” she said.
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