Victoria puts an end to no-interest solar battery loan program

The Victorian government has announced applications for the state’s interest-free solar battery loan program are no longer being accepted, declaring that the rollout of energy storage systems under the scheme has exceeded expectations.

May 27, 2025 David Carroll

Image: Solar Victoria

State government agency Solar Victoria has confirmed it is no longer accepting applications for its interest-free battery loan program designed to help households install battery energy storage.

Announced by Victoria Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio in mid-2023, the scheme offered interest-free loans of up to $8,800 (USD 5,700) for a battery, decreasing the up-front costs of an energy storage system to be installed alongside new or existing rooftop solar.

The commitment was to provide 4,500 loans but the state government says in the 2025/26 Budget Papers released last week that the program is expected to fund more than 3,800 batteries in the 2024-25 financial year. That comes on top of the 2,036 batteries funded under the scheme in 2023-24.

The state government revealed in the budget papers that the “performance measure is proposed to be discontinued as this program ends on 30 June 2025.”

That date has now effectively been brought forward with Solar Victoria confirming it is no longer accepting new applications.

“Solar Victoria has now closed applications for its interest-free battery loans offering, now that targets for this incentive have been met,” the agency said in a statement.

“When interest-free loans launched in July 2023, the commitment was to provide 4,500 loans. That target has now been exceeded with hundreds more applications now being finalised meaning that solar battery installations will continue to grow over the coming months.”

Victorian Greens spokesman Tim Read has condemned the decision, saying there is no reason to cancel “the largely cost-neutral loan scheme.”

Read said the “decision means people who would benefit most from cheaper, cleaner energy remain locked out by the cost of batteries.”

“This was a sensible, low-risk scheme that let people take control of their energy bills and reduce their reliance on fossil fuels,” he said. “Helping more people electrify their homes is one of the most effective ways to reduce energy bills and reduce emissions, we should be scaling this up, not winding it down.”

The interest-free battery loan scheme is part of the state government’s broader $1.3 billion Solar Homes Program, which includes the solar battery incentive. It replaced the battery rebate program. Solar Victoria said through solar battery rebates and loans, more than 20,000 solar battery systems have been installed across the state.

The agency said the incentives have achieved their targets by stimulating demand for batteries in Victoria and suggested that the federal government’s $2.3 billion national battery subsidy scheme, to commence on 1 July, will continue this on.

The national Cheaper Home Batteries Program will leverage the Small Scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES) administered by the Clean Energy Regulator. The program will initially provide an up-front discount of about $370 per kWh useable capacity for eligible batteries attached to either new or existing solar installations.

The rebate will apply to batteries ranging from 5 kWh to 100 kWh at residential, small business or community facilities covering on and off-grid installations. For the larger systems, up to 50 kWh of storage capacity will be eligible per installation.

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