About Max Opray

Journalist Max Opray joined SolarQuotes in 2025 as editor, bringing with him over a decade of experience covering green energy. Across his career Max has won multiple awards for his feature stories for The Guardian and The Saturday Paper, fact-checked energy claims for Australian Associated Press, launched the climate solutions newsletter Climactic, and covered the circular economy for sustainability thinktank Metabolic. Max also reported on table tennis at the 2016 Rio Olympics — and is patiently waiting for any tenuous excuse to include his ping pong expertise in a SolarQuotes story.

All Energy Australia Grapples With Scale Of The Battery Boom

People watching on in an audienceThousands have converged on Melbourne to address the opportunities and growing pains of the solar battery bonanza, in the first All Energy Australia conference since the introduction of the federal rebate. The SolarQuotes team joined the fray to cover the Southern Hemisphere’s largest clean energy event, which ran over two days from October 29 to 30.

[Read more…]

Australia’s Best Solar Installers In 2025

Australia’s top solar installers have been recognised at the inaugural SolarQuotes Awards event at the Showtime Events Centre in Melbourne on Tuesday.

[Read more…]

Battery Rebate To Deliver A Coal Plant Of Power In 18 Months

The federal battery rebate is set to play a crucial role in reaching Australia’s new 2035 emissions target, with SolarQuotes analysis revealing that the power output of additional battery storage capacity installed under the scheme will soon match that of Australia’s largest coal plant.

[Read more…]

Aldi Solar Chucks Big Batteries Into Its Bargain Bin

An Aldi Solar van next to a solar panelAldi is expanding its solar offer both in size and coverage, featuring bigger batteries that will be available in more areas of Australia. Here’s our verdict on whether it’s a good idea to get a supermarket to power your home.

[Read more…]

Huge Wait On Battery Installs Due To Rebate Rush

Someone installing a battery

Demand for the federal battery rebate is so intense that many installers are fully booked for months and struggling to find battery stock, with some jobs already being pushed into next year when the incentive drops in value.

[Read more…]

Heat Pumps Win The Hot Water Efficiency War

A hot water heat pumpWhen it comes to efficiency, hot water heat pumps have long had the definitive edge over alternative technologies anywhere south of Brisbane. Our latest analysis further upgrades this advice: heat pumps today are the most efficient way to heat your hot water, no matter what area of Australia you live. [Read more…]

Federal Battery Rebate On Track To Run Out Of Funding

Installation of a home battery Extraordinary uptake in response to the federal battery rebate means the scheme is likely to chew through its announced $2.3bn funding pool well ahead of schedule. SolarQuotes can reveal that the Albanese government has earmarked additional funding, but this still doesn’t make up the projected shortfall.

[Read more…]

The Rebate Cowboys Are Back: Don’t Get Taken For A Ride

A website promoting the federal battery rebateThe Cheaper Home Batteries Program is triggering a Wild West of misleading ads, dodgy installations, poor-quality products, and fake government websites. We’ve seen this all before with the solar rebate: here’s how to avoid falling for the same traps with the new battery incentive.

[Read more…]

Federal Battery Rebate Rules Locked In

Energy minister Chris Bowen spruiks Labor’s battery election promise.

The federal government has scrambled to the finish line just in time for its $2.3bn Cheaper Home Batteries Program, amending regulations to make official a plan to reshape Australia’s energy grid with the install of one million batteries by 2030.

[Read more…]

Battery Rebate Backflips Trigger Petitions & Mass Refunds

A battery rebate petitionHundreds of homeowners and installers expecting to stack the federal battery rebate with cancelled state schemes have been left in the lurch, launching petitions and scrambling to get their deposits back as they ask the question: is it still worth getting a battery with the federal incentive alone?

[Read more…]

Get the latest solar, battery and EV charger news straight to your inbox every Tuesday