Australians are already seeing the benefits of battery storage, according to a new report by the Climate Council that outlines how adding more batteries could save households billions and help build a more reliable electricity grid.
The report, Battery Boom: Supercharging Australia’s Renewable Rollout, says that pairing rooftop solar with a battery nearly doubles a household’s savings – up to $2,300 a year compared to $1,500 for solar alone. Only around 8 per cent of households with solar currently have a battery, but the Council believes there’s strong potential to add another two million batteries to homes and businesses by 2030. This would deliver an estimated $4 billion in annual savings across the country.
“Rooftop solar and batteries are a permanent bill buster,” the report says. “Unlike one-off energy rebates, home batteries permanently bust power bills and slash climate pollution.”
Home batteries are also playing a role during power outages and peak demand. In areas impacted by floods, storms and fires, households and businesses are increasingly relying on batteries to stay powered when the grid goes down. Some communities are using batteries in local microgrids to replace diesel, especially in remote areas.
The report also notes that the falling cost of batteries is making them more accessible. Since 2013, prices have dropped by 86 per cent, mainly due to lower lithium costs. In just the past year, large-scale battery prices fell by 20 per cent, while gas generation costs increased by 11 per cent. Payback periods for households have dropped from 19 years in 2016 to around 8 years in 2024.
Australia’s battery storage capacity has more than doubled in the past three years to over 3 gigawatts. Since the first grid-scale battery was installed in South Australia in 2017, 33 more have been added nationwide, alongside over 300,000 home batteries and 500 at community scale. Storage now meets around 5 per cent of demand during high-usage periods on the main grid, but this rises to 30 per cent in South Australia and 20 per cent in parts of Western Australia.
Suburban areas have a large untapped role to play. The Council identifies Tarneit (Victoria), Bundaberg and Hervey Bay (Queensland) as having the highest potential for home battery uptake, with over 64,000 solar households across the three regions. In NSW, interest in home batteries is likely to grow further next month when the state government launches new subsidies to help with upfront costs. The Federal Government’s Cheaper Home Batteries Program kicks off on 1 July 2025.
Electric vehicles could also become part of the solution. Vehicle-to-grid technology would allow car batteries to store excess solar and export it back to the grid, saving drivers around $2,000 a year by reducing both energy and petrol costs.
At a national level, Australia will need about 49 gigawatts of battery and pumped hydro storage by 2050 to support a renewable energy system. This is more than 15 times the current battery capacity. The Climate Council says this transition is key to replacing coal and gas and protecting the country from fossil fuel price shocks.
“As the world’s top producer of lithium, both the public and private sectors are already investing significantly to unlock this economic opportunity and create more local jobs by manufacturing and reprocessing batteries here in Australia,” the report notes.
The report ends with a call to scale up all types of batteries – from household to neighbourhood to utility scale – to match the country’s fast-growing renewable generation. With over 40 per cent of Australia’s electricity now coming from wind, solar and hydro, battery storage is being framed not just as an add-on, but a key part of delivering reliable and affordable energy across the grid.
