Australia is on the cusp of a home battery boom
In the run-up to the May 3 election, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledged to set aside $2.3 billion to cover around 30 per cent of the purchase and installation cost for anyone buying a household battery system that can stash power generated from their rooftop solar panels.
Electricity giant Origin Energy, which owns Australian quote-comparison service SolarQuotes, said enquiries about purchasing home batteries had rocketed since Labor's re-election locked in the subsidy program, which kicks in from July 1 and will not be limited by the purchaser's income.
'In the month to date, Origin and SolarQuotes saw a remarkable 250 per cent increase in home battery enquiries,' Origin executive general manager of retail Jon Briskin said.
Australia is a world leader in per-person solar uptake, with more than 4 million homes – or one in three – now fitted with rooftop solar panels.
However, just one in 40 also has a battery, which has led to a significant problem: all those solar panels are making far too much electricity in the middle of the day when the sun is brightest, and hardly any when people return home, turn on their lights and fire up appliances.
SolarGain, a major solar and battery storage provider with 23 stores nationally, confirmed that enquiries about home batteries had doubled across its network. Enquiry volumes at specific outlets were up to 400 per cent higher than previous levels, it said.
Home-owners were eager to produce and use their own electricity as much as possible as a way to lessen their reliance on the grid, and cut their exposure to higher prices and network outages, SolarGain Victorian business development manager Will Haydon said.
'People want to separate from the grid,' he said. 'Now they have an opportunity to store their excess power with a much quicker return on their investment.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
US deploys warships to disputed South China Sea shoal
The United States has deployed two warships in a disputed South China Sea shoal where two Chinese ships collided earlier in the week while trying to drive away a smaller Philippine ship in a high-seas accident that raised alarms about maritime safety. Both China and the Philippines claim Scarborough Shoal and other outcroppings in the South China Sea. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also lay overlapping claims in the contested waters. The USS Higgins, a guided missile destroyer, and USS Cincinnati, a littoral combat ship, were shadowed by a Chinese navy ship while sailing about 55km from the Scarborough Shoal. Australia is seriously concerned by the dangerous and unprofessional conduct of Chinese vessels near Scarborough Shoal involving the Philippine Coast Guard. This incident highlights the need for de-escalation, restraint and respect for international law, particularly UNCLOS. Australian Embassy in the Philippines (@AusAmbPH) August 13, 2025 There were no reports of any untoward incident, Philippine coast guard Commodore Jay Tarriela said, citing information from US officials and a Philippine surveillance flight. The US navy has staged what it calls freedom-of-navigation voyages and overflights in the South China Sea for years to challenge China's restrictions and its demand for entry notifications in virtually the entire stretch of the disputed waters that it claims. That has angered China and its forces have had close runs-in with US warships and aircraft on such patrols in international waters and airspace. The deployment happened after US ambassador to the Phillipines MaryKay Carlson on Tuesday condemned "the latest reckless action by China directed against a Philippine vessel" in Scarborough. The rich fishing atoll off the northwestern Philippines has been the scene of increasingly tense confrontations between the Chinese and Philippine coast guard, fishing and other ships in recent years. The Philippines is the oldest treaty ally of the US in Asia. The US has repeatedly warned that it is obligated to defend the Philippines if Filipino forces come under an armed attack, including in the South China Sea. On Monday, a Chinese navy destroyer and a Chinese coast guard ship accidentally collided while trying to block and drive away a smaller Philippine coast guard ship, the BRP Suluan, about 19km from Scarborough. Video footages made public by the Philippine coast guard show the Chinese coast guard ship blasting its powerful water cannon and a number of Chinese personnel standing at the bow shortly before that section was hit by the fast-turning Chinese navy ship. Shortly after the collision, the video shows the heavily shattered bow of the Chinese coast guard ship without the Chinese personnel, who were standing on deck before the crash. The Chinese navy ship sustained deep dents and what appeared to be linear gushes on its hull. Japan, Australia and New Zealand expressed alarm on Wednesday over the dangerous manoeuvres that led to the collision in the busy waters, a key global trade route. "Japan upholds the rule of law and opposes any actions which increase tensions. Our concern goes to the repeated actions in the South China Sea," Japanese ambassador to Manila Endo Kazuya said in a post on X. The Australian embassy in Manila expressed concern "by the dangerous and unprofessional conduct of Chinese vessels near Scarborough Shoal involving the Philippine Coast Guard," saying in a statement the incident "highlights the need for de-escalation, restraint and respect for international law". "This is a learning experience for the People's Republic of China," Tarriela, the Philippine coast guard commodore, told a news conference in Manila. "For so many years, we have been reminding them to stop dangerous maneuvers, to stop risky blockings, to adhere to the (anti-)collision regulations because if there is a very high chance of miscalculation, this kind of collision incident would happen." Tarriela spoke a few hours after a Chinese fighter jet flew as close as 150 metres to try to drive away a Philippine coast guard plane on a surveillance flight on Wednesday over the Scarborough with invited journalists on board. The Chinese jet carried out dangerous manoeuvrers for about 20 minutes, including flying about 60 metres above the small Philippine aircraft, Tarriela said.
The Age
an hour ago
- The Age
ASX declines as CBA and AGL shares slump; Miners, Tyro advance
Welcome to your five-minute recap of the trading day. The numbers The Australian sharemarket declined on Wednesday, ignoring fresh records on Wall Street overnight after the rally in the nation's largest bank ran out of steam and shares of the biggest power generator slumped following both companies' results. The S&P/ASX 200 dropped 53.7 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 8817.10 points, led lower by financial stocks and utilities. The ASX had added 0.4 per cent in the previous session as the Reserve Bank cut interest rates. The Australian dollar was up 0.1 per cent at US65.35¢ at the time of the sharemarket close. The lifters The big mining companies all finished higher on the back of a rise in iron price overnight. BHP gained 1.1 per cent, Fortescue Metals rose 1.4 per cent and Rio Tinto added 1 per cent. Meanwhile, gold miner Evolution climbed 3.9 per cent, having jumped as much as 7 per cent during the session, after saying its profit for the year to June 30 more than doubled to $926 million amid rising bullion prices. Fellow gold miner Northern Star Resources gained 1.1 per cent. Penfolds maker Treasury Wine Estates rose 1.2 per cent after revealing a 15.5 per cent lift in underlying profits to $470.6 million, having sold more than $2.9 billion worth of wine over the past financial year. The result was helped by Asian demand for its luxury red wine, and price increases. Tyro Payments jumped 11.5 per cent after telling investors it had received unsolicited and non-binding takeover bids from separate suitors, although so far none of them had been at a level that it considered 'representative of Tyro's intrinsic value'.
Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
Ex-Labor senator calls for tougher sanctions on Israel
Australia is being urged to provide further support to Palestine as Labor faces grassroots pressure over the war in Gaza. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed Australia will recognise Palestinian statehood at the UN in September, joining more than 140 member states. The move follows similar commitments from countries such as the UK, France, and Canada. But it has failed to quieten calls for further action ahead of a national day of protest on August 24. Former Labor senator and left-faction heavyweight Doug Cameron said the government should do all it can to support a Palestinian state, including reconstruction efforts when the conflict ends. "We should not treat Palestine any differently to any other recognised state in the world, and there should be an embassy," he told AAP. "If the Israeli government continues to kill innocent Palestinians, Labor has got no choice but to implement stronger and effective sanctions against a government that's committing genocide." Israel rejects that its actions in Gaza amount to genocide. The latest outbreak of war in Gaza began when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1200 people and taking about 250 hostage. Israel's military response has since killed more than 61,000 people, according to Gaza health authorities. Former foreign affairs minister Bob Carr has called for sanctions against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He was among past and present Labor MPs who attended a pro-Palestine march across the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Hamas has welcomed the Albanese government's decision to recognise Palestine, saying it reflects "political courage". Mr Cameron said he did not give any credence to anything said by the designated terror group, which he said was guilty of war crimes and needed to be brought to justice by international courts. The response from Hamas contradicts the prime minister's claims the terrorist group would be opposed to the nation's recognition because it wanted Israel to be destroyed. Australia was also among more than 20 countries issuing a joint statement calling for urgent action by Israel to allow aid to enter Gaza. Israel denies it is responsible for the lack of food in the war zone, accusing Hamas of stealing aid shipments. The Albanese government's decision on Palestinian statehood marks a divergence from its closest security ally the US, which has opposed formal acknowledgement. Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has vowed to rip up Australia's recognition if elected, while maintaining such a decision should come at the end of a peace process.
