A visit from the Prime Minister is a rare feat for any business. For a solar and battery company, it is even more rare.
So when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese arrived at RKS Energy Solutions in Castle Hill alongside Energy and Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen, Smart Energy Council CEO David McElrea and Australian swimming legend Ian Thorpe, there was naturally a question behind the headlines:
The answer goes beyond the day’s battery installation figures.
It is about what has happened to the Australian energy industry and what that change looks like on the ground.
The event marked a major point in Australia’s home battery rollout, with more than 500,000 batteries installed under the Cheaper Home Batteries Program since July 2025.
But the Government could have marked that occasion almost anywhere.
Instead, the Prime Minister and Energy Minister chose to stand inside a working solar and battery business, surrounded by the people who design, sell and install these systems every day.
That choice has a reason.
The energy transition is often discussed in terms of government policy, electricity markets and large infrastructure projects. But much of the actual work happens somewhere far more familiar: inside local businesses, on suburban rooftops, in switchboards and in the homes of Australian families.
RKS Energy Solutions is part of that revolutionary story.
During the visit, Minister Bowen highlighted something particularly relevant to RKS.
He noted that the company had grown from 9 employees to 21 following the introduction of the battery policy.
For a business, that is more than a statistic.
It means more people needed to manage projects, more technical work, more installations and more customers making decisions about how they generate and use electricity.
It also shows how quickly the battery market has moved.
The policy may have been announced in Canberra, but its impact has been felt by businesses like RKS Energy Solutions and companies that have had to respond to a sudden increase in demand while maintaining the standards expected of an electrical and energy business.
That is one of the less visible sides of Australia’s battery story.
Every battery installed requires more than a product being delivered to a home. There is system design, electrical assessment, inverter selection, installation, commissioning and ongoing customer support.
The growth of the market has therefore created demand for capability as much as it has created demand for batteries.
There is a difference between talking about an industry and being part of it.
RKS Energy Solutions has spent more than 16 years working in Australia’s solar and energy sector. Over that time, the technology has changed considerably.
Solar systems have become more sophisticated. Battery storage has moved from a relatively specialised product into a mainstream consideration for homeowners. Energy management is becoming increasingly important. And customers are asking more informed questions about how their systems will perform over the long term.
RKS has experienced that change from within the industry.
That made the business a natural setting for a conversation about what comes next.
The Prime Minister’s visit was not simply about a battery number. It was an opportunity to see the people and businesses behind that number.
One of the most interesting parts of the day was seeing government representatives alongside the people actually delivering the technology.
There were installers and apprentices, industry representatives, business owners, battery technology specialists and many more professionals from the field.
That mix says something important about where Australia’s energy transition is now.
It is no longer an emerging concept that exists mainly in policy documents or industry forecasts.
It is becoming part of everyday electrical work across the country.
The Smart Energy Council reported that the number of accredited battery installers had reached 8,846, roughly double the number when the program began.
That growth is significant because the success of any large-scale technology rollout ultimately depends on the people who can deliver it properly.
The Prime Minister described Australia’s move from rooftop solar into battery storage as a “great Australian story” and said the country was now “going for gold when it comes to batteries.”
It is an appropriate way to describe the scale of the opportunity, but the next stage will require more than simply installing more batteries.
As battery adoption increases, the focus will increasingly move towards how those systems are designed and operated.
A battery needs to work with the home’s solar generation, electricity consumption, inverter and electrical infrastructure. It needs to be appropriate for the way the household actually uses energy today and potentially several years from now.
That is where the experience of established solar and battery businesses becomes increasingly important.
The market can grow quickly. Good energy systems still need to be designed carefully.
For the RKS Energy Solutions team, having the Prime Minister and Energy Minister walk through the business was a proud moment.
But perhaps the more meaningful part was what the visit represented.
RKS began more than 16 years ago in an industry that looked very different from the one we see today. The business has grown alongside Australia’s adoption of rooftop solar and, more recently, battery storage.
Today, RKS works across solar, battery storage and broader energy solutions for Australian homes and businesses.
The visit also provided an opportunity for our team to share the realities of the industry directly from the growth in demand to the people needed to deliver these systems and the technical considerations that come with increasingly sophisticated energy solutions.
For us, that is what made the day significant.
It was not simply about having the Prime Minister visit our facility.
It was about seeing the work of thousands of people across Australia’s solar and battery industry recognised at a time when the industry is entering one of its most important periods of growth.
Australia’s battery market has moved quickly. The next challenge is making sure that growth is matched by quality, technical capability and thoughtful system design.
That is the part of the transition that happens every day one home, one business and one energy system at a time.
For RKS Energy Solutions, being part of that work is what makes the Prime Minister’s visit particularly meaningful and today, you too have an opportunity to be a part of this new-age, clean & sustainable energy revolution.
If you’re considering solar or battery storage for your home or business, speak with the RKS team about designing an energy system around your needs.
The Prime Minister visited RKS to mark the rapid growth of household battery storage in Australia and recognise the businesses and workers delivering the transition on the ground.
RKS Energy Solutions represents the local solar and battery industry that has experienced significant growth as Australian households have adopted energy storage. The Government also highlighted RKS’s growth in employment since the battery program began.
It demonstrates how quickly battery storage has moved into the mainstream of Australia’s residential energy market and the growing role of batteries alongside rooftop solar.
Batteries allow households to store excess solar generation during the day and use that energy later, particularly when solar production falls and electricity demand increases.
Solar panels generate most of their electricity during daylight hours, while households often use more energy in the afternoon and evening. Batteries help shift some of that daytime generation to when it is needed.
No. Battery capacity should be matched to the property’s solar generation, electricity consumption, inverter configuration and expected energy use.
RKS designs and installs solar, battery and energy solutions for Australian homes and businesses, taking into account the property’s existing infrastructure, energy requirements and future needs.
RKS has more than 16 years of experience in solar and energy systems and has grown alongside Australia’s transition from rooftop solar towards integrated solar and battery solutions.
The rapid increase in battery demand has created substantial growth across the industry. During the RKS event, Energy Minister Chris Bowen highlighted that RKS had grown from nine employees to 21 following the introduction of the battery policy.
Battery storage involves more than selecting a battery. System design needs to account for solar generation, electricity consumption, inverter compatibility, electrical infrastructure, installation requirements and the property’s future energy needs.
The industry is moving from solar generation towards more integrated energy systems combining solar, battery storage, energy management and, increasingly, technologies such as EV charging.
It means a growing number of homes can generate and store their own electricity, shifting energy use away from the grid at certain times and creating a much larger distributed storage resource across Australia’s electricity system. The Government says this growing battery fleet can also help reduce pressure on the grid.
Our team can help you choose the right solar system, battery storage and energy solutions.
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