Western Australia’s Cook Labor Government plans to introduce a home solar battery rebate and interest-free loan scheme. This program, which is pending final approval, aims to reduce energy bills and promote a greener future. Expected to commence from 1 July 2025, Synergy customers can claim up to a maximum of $5,000 and Horizon customers can claim up to $7,500 for residential solar batteries. To further ease the financial burden, no-interest loans are also expected to be available for qualifying households. Here’s what we know about the scheme so far, with the final details still to come.
What is the WA Battery Rebate?
Premier Roger Cook announced the solar battery rebate during WA Labor’s election campaign. The WA Government has promised to implement a $387 million program that includes rebates of up to $5,000 for Synergy customers and up to $7,500 for Horizon customers. It’s estimated that each household can save up to $1,500 per year by installing a solar battery. This battery scheme aims to help WA homeowners purchase a solar battery for their solar system, allowing households long-term cost of living relief.
The only limiting factor here is how many rebates will be available, with over 531,000+ solar installations across WA, one can only imagine the demand, and how quickly these rebates will be exhausted, leaving a lot of disappointed WA homeowners.
Interest-Free Solar Battery Loans
In addition to the battery rebate, the government will also offer no-interest loans of up to $10,000, which can be repaid over up to 10 years. These loans will be available to eligible homeowners to help cover the cost of the battery. 20,000 loans will be available to low to medium-income households and homeowners will be means-tested to see if they qualify. No details have been provided thus far on the threshold of this household income, but if I were to guess, it would be between 180-240K. New, additional and replacement solar panels will also be eligible for the loan if they are installed as part of a package involving the installation of a battery system.
Who is Eligible to Apply for the Rebate?
WA households that have a solar battery that meets Australian and local grid standards are eligible for the battery rebate scheme. The battery purchased must also be of an existing recognised brand and have a minimum of 5kWh storage capacity. We’ve been advised that all CEC-listed batteries will meet these requirements. Low and middle-income families will also be eligible to combine the rebate with loan funding assistance.
Battery systems will also need to demonstrate Virtual Power Plant readiness. This means the battery system must establish a connection to the electricity grid and have an ongoing internet connection (with regular testing).
How is the Rebate Amount Determined?
The amount of rebate amount each homeowner receives is dependent upon the battery capacity they purchase. Households will be able to claim $500 per kilowatt hour (kWh) for up to 10 kWh of battery capacity.
So for example, if you were to purchase a 5kWh battery:
5 × 500 = $2500 rebate.
And if you purchased a 10kWh battery:
10 × 500 = $5000 rebate.
When Will the Battery Rebate Programme Begin?
The battery rebate program is scheduled to start on 1st July 2025, provided the finer details can be resolved within the government policy team. This program may start sooner, but several factors need to be resolved before the commencement of the battery rebate. We’re still awaiting information such as:
- Who claims the rebate, the installation company or the homeowner? and;
- Do they need to join a battery management scheme to help the grid with peak demand events?
Further details of accreditation and compliance arrangements are to be developed as the government consults with industry.
How to Prepare for the WA Solar Battery Rebate
To maximise your chances of securing the battery rebate, we strongly recommend having a solar battery system installed before 1 July 2025. This will allow you to apply for the rebate as soon as it commences. If you haven’t got a solar system already, we recommend a two-part installation. Install a hybrid inverter now and then add the batteries to your system once the no-interest battery loans become available.
Perth Solar Force installs about 60-70 domestic systems every week, so I believe we have a very good understanding of today’s market. We understand the market is currently in a period of uncertainty, where clients are unsure whether to wait until 1st July to make a decision or to pull the trigger now.
My response is simple: ACT NOW!
Why? Because if you wait until 1st July, it may be too late! I have seen first-hand the demand for this battery rebate. We have over 30,000 clients and when we emailed half of them about the rebate, we saw an immediate surge in responses. We’ve already had over 1,500 people interested in taking advantage of the rebate. This is over 10% of the people we wrote to, and this number grows hour by hour. So out of the 531,000 installations in Western Australia, if 10% want a battery, that’s 53,100 eligible households, with only 20,000 rebates available.
Choose a Trusted Solar Battery Installer
If you don’t want to miss out on this battery rebate, you need to act now. Talk to a trusted solar and battery company that understands the ins and outs of batteries and the battery rebate, who knows how to size solar systems and batteries according to your needs, and who will install the batteries with their own employees, not sub-contractors.
Being the sales manager of Perth’s largest solar battery installation company (as confirmed by the SunWiz 2025 Awards), I have been heavily involved in the solar battery sector for the past 5 years. During this time, I have witnessed some truly shocking scenarios, from poorly installed battery systems to customers being misled with unrealistic promises.
When choosing the correct battery for your home, you need to consider a few things, such as:
- If you already have a solar system, do you have enough excess power being produced during the day to charge your battery?
- If you do not have a solar system already, do you know the correct size to purchase for your home needs and ensure the battery will be charged?
- Do you want to oversize your panels? The normal 133% rule doesn’t apply when adding a DC-coupled battery
- Do you want an AC or DC-coupled battery?
- Do you want black-start capabilities? (black-out protection)
- What appliances do you want backed up in the event of a power outage?
- In the event of a grid outage, what speed is the changeover rate? A millisecond or 30 seconds?
- What discharge rate do you require?
- What is the battery’s usable capacity?
- What is the battery’s lifespan and warranty?
- What is the depth of discharge (DoD)?
- Is the battery compatible with your current system or new system?
- Can the battery be expanded in the future? Is the system scalable?
- What are the monitoring systems like?
There is a lot to consider, and it’s not a case of one size fits all. This is why you really need to have a sit-down appointment with a genuine and trusted installation company to ask all these questions and design a system that is fit for purpose according to your home and family needs.
So if you want to talk to WA’s number 1 solar battery installer, then please get in contact with Perth Solar Force today and one of our team members will come out and have a chat in the comfort of your own home, where you can ask all the questions you want, and all I ask in return, is you pop the kettle on for them.