State home battery rebate drives thousands of installs in just five months

In the five months since the New South Wales government launched its household battery rebate scheme nearly 8,000 batteries have been installed in homes and businesses across the state.

New numbers published on Monday by the NSW Minns Labor government reveal that more than 7,800 batteries have been installed since the launch of the scheme in November of 2024. The numbers drive home the value of government rebate schemes, just as the federal Labor government promises to introduce a national home battery discount scheme if re-elected in May.

Unveiled in mid-2024, the NSW Peak Demand Reduction Scheme provides an upfront discount of between $1,600 and $2,400 on the cost of installation depending on the battery’s usable capacity for homes and small businesses in NSW that already have existing solar systems, or those installing a combined solar and battery system.

That means a discount of on average over $2,000 on the upfront cost of a typical 13.5kWh household battery.

A further $250 to $400 is available for those who connect their battery to a virtual power plant (VPP), which will be claimable twice with a minimum interval of three years.

According to the Minns government, over 7,800 batteries have been installed since the scheme was launched, with over half of those installations taking place outside the Sydney region, reaching more than 90 per cent of all Local Government Areas across the state.

“More than a third of NSW homes already have rooftop solar, and now we’re helping thousands of them connect a battery so they can store the energy produced when the sun is up, and use it around the clock,” said Chris Minns, Premier of NSW.

“We know there is a lot more work to do to reduce cost of living pressures but schemes like this are putting money back in people’s pockets in a way that is good for energy reliability and good for the environment.”

The top 15 Local Government Areas for installations so far are: