Australia has reached a major clean energy milestone, with 500,000 home batteries now installed nationwide under the federal government’s Cheaper Home Batteries Program.
The achievement was celebrated last Friday at a press conference held in a local warehouse in Castle Hill, hosted by the Smart Energy Council and RKS Energy Solutions, an authorised retailer for Fox ESS.
Government leaders attended the event to mark the milestone, alongside Fox ESS brand ambassador and Olympic swimmer Ian Thorpe.
The gathering highlighted how quickly the program has reshaped household energy habits across the country, driving a surge in demand for solar and battery storage systems.
Launched to accelerate the adoption of residential energy storage, the program is targeting more than two million installations by 2030.
Roughly midway through 2026, it is already tracking at around 25 per cent of that goal, a pace organisers say demonstrates the power of targeted, upfront government support in rapidly transforming an energy market and building consumer confidence.
The program’s momentum has prompted the government to expand its financial commitment significantly.
What began as a $2.3 billion investment has now grown to $7.2 billion over four years.
For households across Australia, the appeal is straightforward: pairing solar panels with battery storage delivers permanently lower power bills and greater control over energy costs.
Policy attention is now shifting toward what officials describe as the “missing middle”, the commercial and industrial energy storage sector that has lagged behind residential uptake.
Additional regulatory work is underway to support solar-plus-storage systems in this space, alongside new state-based incentives aimed at speeding adoption among businesses.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese praised the program’s impact, calling it “an extraordinarily successful scheme”.
Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen pointed to the scale of the rollout, noting that “we’re installing around 2,000 batteries every single working day across the country”.
Officials say the program has already helped bring some households’ power bills down to zero while supporting jobs, economic activity and emissions reduction.
Industry players have also benefited from the surge in demand.
Fox ESS, which has built a strong presence in the local market, operates offices in Sydney and Melbourne with a service team of more than 50 professionals dedicated to Australian customers.
In June, the company opened its second factory, expanding its manufacturing capacity to keep pace with growing consumer interest in home energy storage.
Ian Thorpe, who is Fox ESS’s brand ambassador in Australia, said the company’s rise reflects broader momentum in the sector, noting Fox ESS is now the top brand in the Australian market and expressing pride in helping households make the most of renewable energy.
With continued government backing and expanding industry capacity, Australia appears well positioned to build on this momentum.
Officials say the combination of sustained policy support and private sector investment should further strengthen the nation’s energy resilience, lower costs for consumers and reduce emissions in the years ahead.
