Solar knocks out gas
If you have solar panels on your home, backed up by a battery, you are not only reducing your power bill, you are helping replace fossil fuel gas in Australia’s power generation.
As recently as 2018, the former senior Royal Dutch Shell executive, Ian Dunlop spoke at the Transition to a Safe Climate Conference, organised by Sustainable Macleod and Transition Banyule. He stressed the critical need to remove fossil fuels from the energy mix. He also said that the transition would require significant use of gas as a backup.
More recently, data on solar power, backed up by batteries, has shown that gas may not be needed much longer.
A huge game changer, and the reason the Commonwealth government is pouring money into home batteries, is the ability households have to seriously impact the need for gas backup.
As an article in the Australia Institute’s online magazine The Point puts it:
‘Battery discharge has taken a huge chunk out of the gas peak.
One of the most remarkable bits of data from the Australian Energy Market Operator’s latest quarterly report shows very, very clearly how batteries are picking up solar output in the middle of the day, and dumping it out in the evening: cutting very deep into the output of fossil gas.’
According to data from AEMO (the Australian Energy Market Operator), in January this year, batteries sent more energy to the grid than gas at the 7pm peak, (the time when there is the heaviest use of electricity).
While the increase in large, grid-scale batteries is one part of this power revolution, household batteries, coupled with solar panels are the quiet heroes. By soaking up excess solar power during the day, and releasing it to power homes at night, solar/battery households are smoothing out the fluctuations in national electricity grid. Until now, peaks in power use have largely been reliant on gas coming online to meet the demand at those times.
By June 2025, there were 4.2 million rooftop solar systems providing 26.8 gigawatts of generation, or 12.8% of energy generated. In the first half of 2025 alone, 85,000 battery units were sold.
Every installation of solar panels and a home battery plays a part in reducing the need for gas backup of the national grid. Combined, these mini power plants are reducing, and eventually helping remove, the use of gas in our energy system. Home solar really is punching above its weight.
I will be writing further articles on the role of individual households in removing the burning of fossil fuels, as well as individual strategies to reduce our power bills.
Written by Paul Gale-Baker
References
Balancing Australia’s ocean of electricity – CSIRO, 20 October, 2025
https://www.csiro.au/en/news/all/articles/2025/october/ocean-of-electricity
Australia powers ahead on rooftop solar as nation set to achieve 2030 rooftop target – new report finds – Clean Energy Council, 15 September, 2025
https://cleanenergycouncil.org.au/news-resources/australia-powers-ahead-on-rooftop-solar-as-nation-set-to-achieve-2030-rooftop-target-new-report
The core case for gas plummets into a screaming death spiral – Part 1 The Point, 9 February, 2026 https://thepoint.com.au/explainers/260210-the-core-case-for-gas-plummets-into-a-screaming-death-spiral-part-1
The core case for gas plummets into a screaming death spiral – Part 2 The Point, 11 February, 2026 https://thepoint.com.au/explainers/260212-the-core-case-for-gas-plummets-into-a-screaming-death-spiral-part-2
Big batteries are now outcompeting gas in the grid – and gas-rich Western Australia is at the forefront – The Conversation, December 12, 2025
https://theconversation.com/big-batteries-are-now-outcompeting-gas-in-the-grid-and-gas-rich-western-australia-is-at-the-forefront-271753
Australia’s battery revolution is pushing gas out of the grid support business – Renew Economy, February 21, 2026
https://reneweconomy.com.au/australias-battery-revolution-is-pushing-gas-out-of-the-grid-support-business/
Giant batteries drain economics of gas power plants – Reuters, November 22, 2023
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/giant-batteries-drain-economics-gas-power-plants-2023-11-21/
How Australia’s AUD 2.4B Battery Storage Boom Is Replacing Coal – Carbon Credits, August 22, 2025
https://carboncredits.com/australias-power-market-boosts-battery-storage-investment/
Australian Energy Council, Solar Report, Quarter 1, 2025
https://www.energycouncil.com.au/media/xlzd5qrl/solar-report-q1-2025.pdf