Battery boost: How Labor's newest pledge could save you $4000 off a solar battery

With 22.9 percent of houses in Whitehorse utilising solar energy, Energy Minister Chris Bowen visited Burwood this week to announce a re-elected Labor government would cover close to a third of the cost of a solar battery.

Author

Matthew Sims
April 07, 2025

When Burwood couple David and Ruth Hudspeth moved into their 1950s brick veneer house in 2019 after spending time in Hobart, they found it difficult to keep it warm while keeping energy prices down.

In 2022, the pair decided to install solar panels on the roof and transition to an electric heat pump as well as buying an electric vehicle.

However, something they couldn’t justify spending the money on at the time was a solar battery.

On Monday, Energy and Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen visited their home alongside Chisholm MP Carina Garland to announce a re-elected Labor government would cut back the cost of a solar battery by 30 percent.

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What is Labor’s Cheaper Home Battery program?

Labor’s $2.3 billion Cheaper Home Batteries program would start rolling out from July 1, with projections estimating the program would help install 1.1 million batteries by 2030.

Analysis by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water showed a household with existing rooftop solar could save up to $1,100 off their power bill every year, and a household installing a new solar and a battery system could save up to $2,300 a year.

The discount would be delivered through the existing Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme.

According to the Clean Energy Regulator, in 2024 there were over four million solar power systems installed in Australian homes and small businesses.

An estimated 10.8 million households (37 percent of homes in Australia) currently have solar panels installed.

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With more than 30 percent of Knox homes using solar, we took a look at how popular it was in the other areas of the eastern suburbs.

Who will benefit from this?

Bowen said the fact Burwood had two and a half times more solar panels installed than houses in Toorak showed the scheme would not only support higher-income homeowners.

“This is about families in places like Burwood…who’ve got solar panels but haven’t been able to afford a battery,” he told the Eastern Melburnian.

Garland said support towards the local transition to renewables had been in need for some time.

“From doorknocking in the area already, this is a very popular policy,” she told the Eastern Melburnian.

Ruth said she and David would definitely take advantage of the new support.

“We can use power during the day, but it would also facilitate our evening use and make that a bit cheaper as well,” she said.