Image: Kgbo, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Australian households installed more home batteries than ever in the first half of 2026, and for the first time batteries are going in faster than rooftop solar. The figures come from the Clean Energy Council's (CEC) bi-annual Rooftop Solar and Storage Report, released on 29 September.
The headline numbers
- 180,878 rooftop solar systems were installed, up 35 per cent on the same period of 2025 and the strongest six months since 2021.
- Those systems added 1,894 MW of capacity, up 41 per cent and the highest six-month total on record.
- The June quarter alone set a record: 102,234 systems and 1,079 MW.
- 276,011 home batteries were installed, 52 per cent more than the previous six months, adding 8,691 MWh of storage. That compares with 4,221 MWh in the second half of 2025.
- In total, 457,439 batteries with 12.9 GWh of capacity went in during the first 12 months of the federal Cheaper Home Batteries Program.
Batteries are pulling solar along
The CEC counted 153 batteries for every 100 rooftop solar installations, up from 130 per 100 in the second half of 2025. It reads that as heavy retrofitting of homes that already have solar, alongside new solar and battery packages.
There is a useful point for buyers here. The report says battery incentives appear to be drawing new solar installations with them rather than displacing them, with many households installing or upgrading solar at the same time as adding storage. Solar installs are on track to pass 300,000 this year after falling below that mark in 2025.
A bigger share of the grid
Rooftop solar supplied 12.9 per cent of generation in the first half of 2026. CEC chief executive Jackie Trad said Australia now has more rooftop solar capacity than all its remaining coal-fired power stations combined.
At current rates, rooftop solar in the National Electricity Market is expected to reach 40.3 GW by 2029 to 2030, about 13 per cent above the Australian Energy Market Operator's Step Change scenario. Consumer battery storage is tracking toward 59.2 GWh, which is 79 per cent above AEMO's projection of 33 GWh. Households are building more of the grid than the official planning models assumed.
What a battery earns you beyond the rebate
The CEC has also pointed to virtual power plants as the next step. In an earlier release it cited ACCC analysis finding that households with solar and a battery pay about $323 a quarter on average, and about $106 less if they are signed up to a virtual power plant. That analysis dates from July 2025, so check current offers before relying on it.
Practical takeaway: if you already have solar and are considering a battery, the market is deep and prices are competitive. Get several quotes, confirm the battery is on the approved list, and ask each retailer whether it offers a virtual power plant plan, because that can lower your bill further.