Warning on shoddy operators as consumers rush to install home batteries off Labor rebate

Australia Broadcast Center

09-05-2025

Since Labor's election win, the phones at Solar Gain — a company that offers residential and commercial solar installations — have been running hot.
The Labor government's new renewable energy scheme — offering a 30 per cent rebate on battery installations for people who already have solar or who are looking to install it — is already seeing demand for home batteries soar.
"We feel like we've hit the lottery a little bit with this one," says Will Heydon, Solar Gain's Victorian business development manager.
The company had already seen an uptick in solar installations, completing 220 last year, as well as an increase in household battery installations. Now, it's preparing to hire new staff.
"We've had a bit of a sit-down meeting about how we're going to cover this, because we've already had over the weekend, after the election, had about 40 calls come through.
Mr Heydon says generally the company gets booked out three to four weeks in advance, but "now, we're going to be looking probably about 12 to 14 weeks".
Aside from battery subsidies, that demand is likely to be boosted by further increases in power prices.
Australia's energy regulator has said electricity prices could lift by up to almost 9 per cent from July 1 this year in some areas as the cost of power generation climbs.
But with memories of Labor's Pink Batts Scheme disaster still fresh in many people's minds, Mr Heydon warns consumers to be careful of shoddy operators.
"It's important to vet who your installer is, and also make sure that you do your research into the particular products and the batteries that you're looking to install," Mr Heydon says.
Despite fears a mad rush could get out of hand, for many Australian businesses having policy certainty about plans to address climate change is a positive.
Data shows local investment in renewable energy is growing, albeit from a small base.
New data from the Clean Energy Council, shared exclusively with ABC News, shows that last year total investment in large-scale clean energy projects was $12.7 billion. That's up from $6.4 billion the previous year.
While the data doesn't break down what percentage of total global investment in renewables goes to Australia, separate research from the International Energy Agency (IEA) found global clean energy investment hit about $2 trillion in 2024, twice the level of fossil fuel investment.
Industry experts believe that with Labor having a strong mandate to address climate change, and other options such as nuclear seemingly now off the agenda, local investment in renewables could boom.
"The Australian public really supports renewable energy and wants renewable energy to power their homes, their businesses and their industries," says Michael Bones senior manager, advocacy at Investor Group on Climate Change.
"That kind of social acceptance is something that investors do look at.
"It is something that if the people want, and the policy is there to support it, then that makes it easier for investors to sign off on the large transactions that are required as we do shift from a mainly fossil fuel-based economy to a mainly renewable energy-based economy."
It's already giving multinational companies like Engie, that own local wind and solar projects powering the grid, greater certainty to move ahead.
"We aren't concerned about the rug being pulled out from under investment policy perspective," says Laura Caspari, Engie Australia's chief renewables officer and managing director.
"And so we can have that reassurance that we can go ahead and make investment decisions in clean energy in Australia for the next three, perhaps even six years.
"We're expanding our plans to build more wind, solar and battery projects throughout Australia, and evaluating what that means for hiring and expanding teams."
Labor wants renewables to generate 82 per cent of the nation's power by 2030. It also needs to set new emissions reductions targets out to 2035.
But not all experts are confident that Labor can meet its current targets.
Bruce Mountain is the director of the Victoria Energy Policy Centre at Victoria University and a well-known Australian energy economist. He says the obstacles to a rapid transition are huge.
"I'm doubtful that the rapid emission reduction targets can be met," Professor Mountain argues.
But he thinks policymakers still ought to try.
"It's clear that the population actively support decarbonisation, so I think the government is going to need to think of far more innovative policy approaches," he adds.
Professor Mountain says as batteries become more popular among businesses and households, that creates a new set of pressures.
Customers buying less and less electricity from the central system "changes both the quantum and the nature of grid usage".
"Households that add a battery to a solar power system will cut their grid consumption from 70 per cent of their annual purchases to 5 to 10 per cent of their annual purchases.
"In many respects, a customer that adds a battery to the grid is like losing a customer, and yet the grid still needs to support them at certain times.
"Figuring out how to charge those customers, how to ensure no cross-subsidy between other customers and those … I think, is a rising challenge."
While the conversation about nuclear as a source of energy is expected to simmer down in Australia after the Coalition's crushing election defeat running on a pro-nuclear platform, experts say there may be scope to revive a discussion about a carbon price.
"I can't speculate on what the new government will or won't do, (but) I think it is fair to say that pricing the costs of climate pollution is necessary," Mr Bones argues.
"The increased economic damages from the extreme climate impacts that we're suffering is going to harm the economy, unless we move away from dirtier sources of fuel and onto cleaner sources of fuel, and unless we do that relatively quickly."
Professor Mountain doubts the government "has the intention and really has the metal to make those interventions".
But he says without drastic changes, Australia will fail to reduce emissions as rapidly as many are hoping it will.
He says regardless of whether there's a carbon price, "it's the end of chatter" on nuclear for now.
"I think they're starting to appreciate the difficulties involved, not just in obtaining broader support for the (nuclear) policy, but in the sheer challenge and cost of developing nuclear power generation Australia," he says.
"I think it's bound to be the case that we don't hear terribly much more on it (the nuclear debate) for a long time from the Coalition.
"And I dare say, if other energy sources rise to take the place of coal, the prospect of nuclear becoming a meaningful part of the energy mix is not high."