Following the amendment to the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Regulations 2001, solar batteries are now eligible under the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES).

Solar batteries help households store solar energy for use when it’s needed most, such as at night or during peak demand. This helps:

  • lower electricity bills for participating households by reducing their need to buy electricity from the grid  
  • lower electricity bills for everyone by balancing electricity supply and demand across the whole grid
  • support grid stability and disaster resilience.

Eligible solar batteries will attract around a 30% discount, based on the battery’s usable capacity.

The Australian Government will fully fund the discount for solar batteries by purchasing small-scale technology certificates (STCs). This means no costs will be passed on to householders through energy retailers.

The SRES has established compliance frameworks that will be extended to batteries. This allows us to continue to work closely with states and territories to support them to fulfil their obligations for electrical and safety regulation. Our processes, inspections and infrastructure support state and territory electrical safety regulators, Solar Accreditation Australia (SAA) and the Clean Energy Council (CEC) to do their work to ensure:

  • products and installations are safe and meet standards for electrical safety
  • the people designing, selling and installing battery systems are qualified and properly accredited.

We’ll begin conducting inspections on solar battery installations soon after 1 July. Inspections ensure battery systems meet installation and safety requirements and are eligible for STCs. We’ll publish inspection data on our website and share results, including insights on key learnings and risks, with state and territory regulators and authorities responsible for electrical safety and fair trading.

We expect demand for batteries to be high during the roll-out of the program. Consumers can expect that there may be longer than usual wait times for both ordering a new solar battery, or having a new solar battery installed. Solar battery retailers and registered agents can expect delays in processing STCs while we establish our systems.

We have planned a measured and phased roll-out to make sure only certified products and accredited installers are involved.

Read more about installing a solar battery.

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