The household battery revolution that could change energy bills … and the world
Adam Morton ([url]https://www.theguardian.com/profile/adam-morton[/url]) and Petra Stock ([url]https://www.theguardian.com/profile/petra-stock[/url])
Australia is pioneering a revolution in home renewables and battery use, proving what is possible with the right policies
Sun 31 May 2026 01.00 BST
The timing was rich with symbolism. As intense heatwaves pummelled Europe and Asia, and oil markets around the world leapt and sputtered, the two big chimneys of one of Australia’s largest power stations were being demolished. Meanwhile, the Australian energy minister was holding a media conference to hail a fall of up to 10% in the benchmark electricity price ([url]https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/may/26/power-bills-drop-fall-australia-energy-default-market-offer[/url]) in parts of the country.
Quietly, and with surprisingly little fanfare from the rest of the world, Australia is pioneering a revolution in home renewables and battery use, proving what is possible with the right policies. The country was already one of the global leaders in domestic solar power, with panels on one in three ([url]https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/01/how-generous-subsidies-helped-australia-to-become-a-leader-in-solar-power[/url]) homes. It also remains, however, a major contributor to the climate crisis through its vast fossil fuel exports.But it is batteries that are giving Australia a new burst of speed.
Nearly 60% of the household-scale battery capacity installed across almost 200 other countries this financial year will be in the southern continent, according to a recent analysis. Since July, about 415,000 have been connected – roughly one unit for every 25 Australian homes.
Industrial-scale batteries are being built nearly as quickly, with Australia (population: 27 million) trailing only China (1.4 billion) and the US (350 million) in new capacity after connections more than doubled last year. The increase in battery usage big and small is starting to bring down the cost of electricity from the nation’s spindly power grid, which includes more than 40,000km ([url]https://www.aemo.com.au/-/media/files/electricity/nem/national-electricity-market-fact-sheet.pdf[/url]) (24,850 miles) of transmission lines and cables between tropical far-north Queensland and the southern island state of Tasmania.
Chimneys at the defunct Liddell power station collapse during a controlled demolition. Photograph: AGL “It’s amazing,” says Tristan Edis, the author of the analysis and a director with the consultancy Green Energy ([url]https://www.theguardian.com/environment/energy[/url]) Markets. “It shows again that if you go big with a technology, and you kick it off big from the start, you can make a really significant difference. If you’re a battery manufacturer focused on residential right now you really must be focused on Australia.”
Batteries counter the long-used arguments against renewables – that they are unpredictable and intermittent and therefore put extra burdens on a national grid which must have an expensive backup power source such as gas in place. Instead, batteries mean solar power can be stored and used when it is needed.
From early on in the renewable revolution, batteries were envisaged as a critical part of the puzzle. Homes would be able to install panels on their roofs to capture and convert solar energy, and batteries in their homes to store the energy and use it when they needed it. But while solar panel prices fell rapidly a few years ago, it is only in recent years that batteries have become similarly available and affordable. The US-Iran war and subsequent rise in energy prices has highlighted the advantages of renewable technologies like this, and the number of installations around the world has moved from a trickle a few years ago (Arsenal football ground ([url]https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/nov/26/arsenal-battery-power-emirates-stadium[/url]) being an unlikely pioneer) to a growing tide. China is far ahead, spending more on it than every other country combined. But among the rest, Australia has jumped the pack.
Australia is a global leader in generating electricity from solar energy on per capita terms. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images Previously, power prices would rocket in the evenings as gas-fired power – the most expensive form of energy generation on the Australian grid – was turned on to meet peak demand. With solar and wind now providing nearly half the electricity, and coal-fired power plants gradually closing, gas has been used to fill gaps after the sun sets.
But batteries are increasingly taking over that role. Total gas-fired generation was 24% lower across three months this summer compared with the year before. Tennant Reed, the climate change and energy director with the Australian Industry Group, representing more than 60,000 businesses, says it has “completely changed how electricity prices are formed”.
“The role of gas used to be in the evening to meet the evening peak and that came at a cost, because gas is not a cheap fuel. But more and more, every day, it is batteries that are surging into the market at 6pm,” he says. “Gas will still play a backup role but, on average, batteries are not as expensive as gas peakers and they are pushing those [gas plants] out even as electricity demand increases.”
In fairness, the battery usage rise has been possible partly because Australia is a world leader in household solar on per capita terms, though no government set out for this to be the case. More than a third of houses have panels due to a happy accident of uncoordinated policies ([url]https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/01/how-generous-subsidies-helped-australia-to-become-a-leader-in-solar-power),simple[/url] and quick permitting and widespread public support. Australia is, of course, blessed with lots of sunshine, and solar may not be as productive in more temperate countries.
The number of solar panel installations around the world has increased rapidly as they have become cheaper. Photograph: Fairfax Media But it is a global story, according to Dave Jones at the energy analyst organisation Ember. “Home batteries are in the middle of a revolution, large grid-scale batteries have collapsed ([url]https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/how-cheap-is-battery-storage/[/url]) in price in the last two years, and the quality of them has remarkably improved, with far less critical minerals, a far longer lifetime, and with fire hazard all but eliminated. That is now feeding into the home battery market, and the home battery of today is vastly superior to the home battery of a couple of years ago.
“Already in California, across 2025, there was more solar generation in the early evening than at lunchtime, because of batteries,” Jones said. “Batteries are even good enough now to give 24x365 electricity ([url]https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/solar-electricity-every-hour-of-every-day-is-here-and-it-changes-everything/[/url]), with the largest 1GW 24x365 plant under construction ([url]https://masdar.ae/en/news/newsroom/uae-president-witnesses-launch-of-worlds-first-24-7-solar-pv-battery-storage).”[/url]
The battery revolution has not been free. It was triggered by a generous taxpayer-funded subsidy from Anthony Albanese’s Labor government. Starting last July, it committed A$2.3bn (£1.4bn) over four years to cut the upfront cost for households by 30%.
The rebate was expected to support 1m battery installations by 2030, but it quickly became clear that was unrealistic. With more than 1,000 batteries being installed each day, take-up far exceeded forecasts.
Adam Morton ([url]https://www.theguardian.com/profile/adam-morton[/url]) and Petra Stock ([url]https://www.theguardian.com/profile/petra-stock[/url])
Australia is pioneering a revolution in home renewables and battery use, proving what is possible with the right policies
Sun 31 May 2026 01.00 BST
The timing was rich with symbolism. As intense heatwaves pummelled Europe and Asia, and oil markets around the world leapt and sputtered, the two big chimneys of one of Australia’s largest power stations were being demolished. Meanwhile, the Australian energy minister was holding a media conference to hail a fall of up to 10% in the benchmark electricity price ([url]https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/may/26/power-bills-drop-fall-australia-energy-default-market-offer[/url]) in parts of the country.
Quietly, and with surprisingly little fanfare from the rest of the world, Australia is pioneering a revolution in home renewables and battery use, proving what is possible with the right policies. The country was already one of the global leaders in domestic solar power, with panels on one in three ([url]https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/01/how-generous-subsidies-helped-australia-to-become-a-leader-in-solar-power[/url]) homes. It also remains, however, a major contributor to the climate crisis through its vast fossil fuel exports.But it is batteries that are giving Australia a new burst of speed.
Nearly 60% of the household-scale battery capacity installed across almost 200 other countries this financial year will be in the southern continent, according to a recent analysis. Since July, about 415,000 have been connected – roughly one unit for every 25 Australian homes.
Industrial-scale batteries are being built nearly as quickly, with Australia (population: 27 million) trailing only China (1.4 billion) and the US (350 million) in new capacity after connections more than doubled last year. The increase in battery usage big and small is starting to bring down the cost of electricity from the nation’s spindly power grid, which includes more than 40,000km ([url]https://www.aemo.com.au/-/media/files/electricity/nem/national-electricity-market-fact-sheet.pdf[/url]) (24,850 miles) of transmission lines and cables between tropical far-north Queensland and the southern island state of Tasmania.
Chimneys at the defunct Liddell power station collapse during a controlled demolition. Photograph: AGL “It’s amazing,” says Tristan Edis, the author of the analysis and a director with the consultancy Green Energy ([url]https://www.theguardian.com/environment/energy[/url]) Markets. “It shows again that if you go big with a technology, and you kick it off big from the start, you can make a really significant difference. If you’re a battery manufacturer focused on residential right now you really must be focused on Australia.”
Batteries counter the long-used arguments against renewables – that they are unpredictable and intermittent and therefore put extra burdens on a national grid which must have an expensive backup power source such as gas in place. Instead, batteries mean solar power can be stored and used when it is needed.
From early on in the renewable revolution, batteries were envisaged as a critical part of the puzzle. Homes would be able to install panels on their roofs to capture and convert solar energy, and batteries in their homes to store the energy and use it when they needed it. But while solar panel prices fell rapidly a few years ago, it is only in recent years that batteries have become similarly available and affordable. The US-Iran war and subsequent rise in energy prices has highlighted the advantages of renewable technologies like this, and the number of installations around the world has moved from a trickle a few years ago (Arsenal football ground ([url]https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/nov/26/arsenal-battery-power-emirates-stadium[/url]) being an unlikely pioneer) to a growing tide. China is far ahead, spending more on it than every other country combined. But among the rest, Australia has jumped the pack.
Australia is a global leader in generating electricity from solar energy on per capita terms. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images Previously, power prices would rocket in the evenings as gas-fired power – the most expensive form of energy generation on the Australian grid – was turned on to meet peak demand. With solar and wind now providing nearly half the electricity, and coal-fired power plants gradually closing, gas has been used to fill gaps after the sun sets.
But batteries are increasingly taking over that role. Total gas-fired generation was 24% lower across three months this summer compared with the year before. Tennant Reed, the climate change and energy director with the Australian Industry Group, representing more than 60,000 businesses, says it has “completely changed how electricity prices are formed”.
“The role of gas used to be in the evening to meet the evening peak and that came at a cost, because gas is not a cheap fuel. But more and more, every day, it is batteries that are surging into the market at 6pm,” he says. “Gas will still play a backup role but, on average, batteries are not as expensive as gas peakers and they are pushing those [gas plants] out even as electricity demand increases.”
In fairness, the battery usage rise has been possible partly because Australia is a world leader in household solar on per capita terms, though no government set out for this to be the case. More than a third of houses have panels due to a happy accident of uncoordinated policies ([url]https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/01/how-generous-subsidies-helped-australia-to-become-a-leader-in-solar-power),simple[/url] and quick permitting and widespread public support. Australia is, of course, blessed with lots of sunshine, and solar may not be as productive in more temperate countries.
The number of solar panel installations around the world has increased rapidly as they have become cheaper. Photograph: Fairfax Media But it is a global story, according to Dave Jones at the energy analyst organisation Ember. “Home batteries are in the middle of a revolution, large grid-scale batteries have collapsed ([url]https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/how-cheap-is-battery-storage/[/url]) in price in the last two years, and the quality of them has remarkably improved, with far less critical minerals, a far longer lifetime, and with fire hazard all but eliminated. That is now feeding into the home battery market, and the home battery of today is vastly superior to the home battery of a couple of years ago.
“Already in California, across 2025, there was more solar generation in the early evening than at lunchtime, because of batteries,” Jones said. “Batteries are even good enough now to give 24x365 electricity ([url]https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/solar-electricity-every-hour-of-every-day-is-here-and-it-changes-everything/[/url]), with the largest 1GW 24x365 plant under construction ([url]https://masdar.ae/en/news/newsroom/uae-president-witnesses-launch-of-worlds-first-24-7-solar-pv-battery-storage).”[/url]
The battery revolution has not been free. It was triggered by a generous taxpayer-funded subsidy from Anthony Albanese’s Labor government. Starting last July, it committed A$2.3bn (£1.4bn) over four years to cut the upfront cost for households by 30%.
The rebate was expected to support 1m battery installations by 2030, but it quickly became clear that was unrealistic. With more than 1,000 batteries being installed each day, take-up far exceeded forecasts.
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