A Mirage News release says Western Australia has passed 50,000 home battery installations under the Albanese Government's Cheaper Home Batteries Program, marking a major clean energy milestone and giving more households a way to save rooftop solar power for later use.
What's happening?
In a public release published by Mirage News, WA was reported to have topped 50,000 home battery systems, adding up to more than 1.1 gigawatt-hours of storage. During the same April-to-June 2026 period, households also installed more than 110 megawatts of new rooftop solar, roughly enough to power 25,000 homes.
Outer suburban communities around Perth have led the increase, suggesting home batteries are becoming a standard household purchase rather than a niche upgrade. Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy Josh Wilson called the milestone "a significant milestone" and said it shows "just how strongly Western Australians have embraced home energy storage."
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Why does it matter?
Battery storage can protect households during outages, cut energy costs, and reduce reliance on the grid. By storing excess solar power generated during the day, batteries allow homeowners to use more of their own electricity after sunset instead of buying power at higher evening rates.
Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen said, "Every battery helps cut power bills, reduces pressure on the grid during peak periods, and helps put downward pressure on wholesale electricity prices for all consumers, while helping build a stronger and more reliable electricity system."
What's being done?
Households installing storage alongside rooftop solar can draw on both the federal Cheaper Home Batteries Program and Western Australia's Residential Battery Scheme. Officials are also coordinating with state and territory governments, so Australians without home solar or storage can still benefit from batteries through support for large-scale and community systems that improve reliability and deliver cleaner, lower-cost power.
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Five community batteries in Western Australia are already providing 2.8 megawatt-hours of storage, with 18 more set to come online. Those systems can help balance local demand and support neighborhoods as more homes add solar.
Through the Australian Government's Capacity Investment Scheme, 10 new projects in regional WA are projected to deliver 1.9 gigawatts of renewables along with 482 megawatts of battery capacity. Wilson said, "our government is making sure the big-ticket items like community batteries and grid-scale storage are built too."
As Bowen put it, "Australia is a solar nation, and these latest figures show that we're rapidly becoming a home battery nation too."
WA Minister for Energy and Decarbonisation Amber-Jade Sanderson added: "This is what building a State of Energy looks like: lower bills, cleaner energy and a stronger grid for everyone."
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