Record Rooftop Solar and Home Battery Installations in Australia
Australian households and small businesses saw a significant surge in rooftop solar installations in December, achieving a historical record for the month. During this period, the country also experienced a continued expansion in home battery storage, with an impressive 4.3 gigawatt hours (GWh) of capacity added throughout 2025.
Data from Green Energy Markets highlights that 28,800 new rooftop systems were installed in December, which equates to a remarkable monthly capacity of 328 megawatts (MW). This figure surpasses the previous record of 318 MW set in November 2023.
Trends in the Rooftop Solar Market
The demand for both residential and commercial rooftop systems remains robust, although the annual total for 2025 reached only 2.82 GW, representing a 10 per cent decline compared to the previous year.
Growth in Home Battery Registrations
Meanwhile, the home battery sector continued to flourish, fuelled by the federal government’s Cheaper Home Batteries rebate and additional support from various state initiatives. December saw the registration of 42,000 new battery systems, accounting for a total capacity of 1.2 GWh.
This brings the overall installations for the year to 184,000 systems, translating to a significant 4.3 GWh of nominal capacity. In comparison, Australia’s grid-scale battery installations have reached a total of 3,116 MW and 6,415 MWh for the 12 months leading up to 30 June last year.
Future Outlook for Battery Market
Green Energy Markets anticipates that the home battery boom will persist, at least in the short-term, as alterations to the rebate structure are not set to take effect until 1 May. The proposed changes include a tapering of the rebate based on battery size, whereby smaller household batteries will maintain a greater proportion of the rebate, while larger systems will experience a reduced subsidy per unit.
As noted by GEM, these adjustments imply a lower effective Small-scale Technology Credit (STC) benefit per battery installation over time, potentially driving demand forward into early 2026.
Increasing Size of Rooftop Solar Systems
GEM indicates that the battery boom has also led to an increase in the average size of rooftop solar systems, now standing at 9.64 kW. Households are increasingly focusing on self-consumption and increasing their solar capacity to make the most of their larger batteries.
This adjustment marks the most substantial increase in rooftop solar system sizes in over a decade, resembling the changes seen in 2013 after the removal of an incentive for smaller systems below 1.5 kW.
The report further reveals that both the smallest (<5 kW) and the largest capacity bands (>14 kW) have recorded a higher number of annual system registrations compared to the previous year. Conversely, all mid-range categories (<5 kW – <14 kW) witnessed a downturn in annual registrations.
