Australians have embraced the new solar battery incentive, with early figures showing strong demand in the first month of eligibility under the Clean Energy Regulator’s (CER) Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme.
From 1 July 2025, households and businesses have been able to claim around 30% off the total cost of a solar battery when installing it alongside a new or existing rooftop solar system.
In July alone, 19,592 solar batteries were installed nationwide, delivering a combined nominal capacity of 356.6 MWh. The average installed battery size was 18.2 kWh.
These numbers reflect applications that have been claimed or approved for small-scale technology certificates. Installations that have not yet lodged claims are not included in the count.
CER Executive General Manager of Scheme Operations, Carl Binning, said it was encouraging to see such strong early interest.
“Solar batteries allow all Australians to play a vital role in accelerating renewable energy uptake,” Mr Binning said.
“An increase in solar batteries benefits households and eases pressure on the electricity grid, ultimately leading to lower power bills for everyone.
Mr Binning emphasised that safety remains a priority, with inspections already underway on batteries installed under the scheme. Findings will be published later this month once enough inspections have been completed to identify trends and confirmed through due process.
Inspection results will be shared with state and territory safety regulators, as well as industry bodies like Solar Accreditation Australia, to support compliance programs and professional development for installers.
From mid-August, the CER will begin publishing monthly postcode-level battery installation data on its small-scale installation postcode data page. Data on batteries installed before 1 July 2025, which was supplied voluntarily, is also available there. More accurate historical installation data can be found in the Australian Energy Market Operator’s Distributed Energy Resource Register.
The CER has warned that high demand for the program is likely to extend processing times for small-scale technology certificates.
“We appreciate everyone’s patience as the program ramps up,” Mr Binning said.