Summarising the state of solar in Australia heading into 2026
As we enjoy our peak sunshine months, it’s easy to understand why solar energy has been embraced in Australia from its earliest days, even before the technology had fully developed.
Even though we have long led the world in terms of penetration of household rooftop solar installation, Australia’s solar energy sector still managed to expand in 2025, cementing our position as a global leader in renewable energy adoption.
With more than four million solar installations and record-breaking capacity additions, we’re doing our best to work toward what remain somewhat ambitious renewable energy targets.
Rooftop solar still leads the charge
The continued, consistent adoption of rooftop solar across the country has made the most significant contribution to Australia’s energy transformation.
By June 2025, Australians had installed 26.8 GW of rooftop solar capacity across 4.2 million homes and small businesses, with solar panels now gracing nearly one in three Australian homes.
Rooftop solar provided 12.8% of Australia’s electricity generation in the first half of the year. Queensland led new installations with 326 MW of capacity added between January and the end of June, followed closely by New South Wales at 321 MW and Victoria at 230 MW.
September 2025 marked a particularly impressive milestone, with 302 megawatts of new capacity added in a single month, the highest monthly addition on record.
The average system size has also grown substantially, reaching 10.9 kW in September, up from 9.8 kW in August, as more businesses and commercial entities embrace larger installations.
The current trajectory suggests we’ll exceed our 2030 targets ahead of schedule. The most recent projections from the Clean Energy Council indicate that 37.2 GW of rooftop solar will have been installed by June 2030, beating previous projections by 3.3%.
The financial benefits for households remain compelling. Installing rooftop solar can save households approximately $1,500 annually on energy bills, with that figure almost doubling when battery storage is added.
Battery storage is growing at pace
While the continued growth of rooftop solar has been impressive, the boom in adoption of battery storage over the past year has been even more notable.
Australians purchased 85,000 battery units in the first half of 2025, a 191% increase over the same period in 2024. By mid-2025, cumulative battery installations reached 271,000 units nationwide, nearly double the total from just 12 months earlier.
There are several factors that have contributed to this surge: falling battery costs, increased awareness of energy independence benefits and the launch of significant government incentives that have transformed the economics of battery storage for Australian households.
A world-leading capacity of large-scale battery storage
Australia’s utility-scale solar sector maintained strong momentum throughout 2025. Grid-scale solar generation reached 1,699MW average output during the third quarter, a 16% year-on-year increase. This growth contributed to renewable energy’s 42.7% share of the National Electricity Market during Q3 2025.
Australia is now the third-largest market worldwide for large-scale battery energy storage by capacity, with 14 GW/37 GWh of battery energy storage capacity at or nearing financial close, reflecting capacity expected over the next two years. The pipeline of battery projects jumped 45 GW in 12 months, from 109 GW in August 2024 to 154 GW one year later.
Australia is also the first nation to surpass 1 GWh of utility battery capacity per million people, launching it into a league of its own, far ahead of China and the United States, each with less than 400 MWh per 1 million people.
These large-scale batteries play an increasingly vital role in grid stability, particularly during evening peak demand periods when solar generation declines.
Government support is making solar more affordable
Australia’s solar boom is underpinned by robust government support at both federal and state levels, with 2025 seeing the launch of groundbreaking new battery incentives.
The cornerstone of federal support remains the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES), which provides upfront discounts through Small-scale Technology Certificates (STCs). For a typical 6.6kW solar system in 2026, this subsidy is worth approximately $1,600. While the STC value decreases annually as the scheme phases down toward its 2030 end date, it continues to provide substantial savings.
The game-changer for 2025 was the launch of the Cheaper Home Batteries Program on July 1, 2025. This program provides around a 30% discount on the upfront cost of installing eligible small-scale batteries, delivered through an expansion of the SRES framework. At the time of the scheme’s launch, the maximum rebate was $372 per kilowatt-hour of usable battery capacity, reduced to approximately $335 per kWh after administrative fees.
The program’s impact was immediate and dramatic. In the first few weeks alone, over 11,500 batteries were installed, with more than 1,000 systems installed per day in some periods.
The federal government has also announced the Community Solar Banks Program, supporting shared solar installations in apartment buildings and multi-unit dwellings, with funding to help up to 25,000 households access solar benefits.
Individual states and territories offer additional layers of support:
Victoria provides rebates up to $1,400 for solar PV systems and interest-free loans through its Solar Homes Program, with $4 million allocated for solar projects in 2025.
New South Wales transitioned its battery incentive approach on July 1, 2025, moving from upfront discounts under the Peak Demand Reduction Scheme to enhanced incentives for connecting batteries to Virtual Power Plants, designed to complement the federal battery program.
Western Australia offers substantial battery rebates—up to $5,000 for Synergy customers and up to $7,500 for Horizon Power customers, along with no-interest loans.
South Australia allows concession card holders to exchange ten years of concessions for a 4.4kW solar system and provides VPP incentives for battery systems.
The Australian Capital Territory offers zero-interest loans from $2,000 to $15,000 through its Sustainable Household Scheme, covering battery storage and other energy-efficient upgrades.
Queensland provides federal rebates alongside feed-in tariffs and various local council grants.
Many local councils also offer additional incentives. For example, Adelaide City Council provides up to 20% of the cost of a solar system and subsidises the replacement of gas appliances with electric alternatives.
What we expect to see in 2026 and beyond
The continued development of Australia’s solar energy sector shows no signs of slowing as we head into 2026. The renewable energy construction boom continues, with solar projects forecast to expand significantly.
Investment in solar generation construction is projected to reach substantial levels, supported by federal and state government renewable energy targets, scheduled coal plant closures, and international decarbonisation efforts.
However, the solar sector faces evolving challenges. Grid integration remains a critical focus, with curtailment – the intentional reduction of renewable generation due to grid constraints – requiring ongoing attention. Transmission infrastructure development is considered the “missing link” in Australia’s energy transition, with experts calling for accelerated progress to unlock the full potential of renewable resources.
The broader impact of solar is significant
Australia’s solar success extends beyond mere statistics. The electricity sector’s emissions intensity has reached record lows, and the country is on track to achieve significant emissions reductions by 2030.
The combination of rooftop solar, large-scale renewable projects, and battery storage is fundamentally reshaping how Australians generate, store, and consume electricity.
A further notable change will come into effect in the middle of the year, with the introduction of the Solar Sharer Program.
From July, energy retailers operating in southeast Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia will be required to offer free electricity to households for at least three hours in the middle of the day, when solar generation is at its peak.
The Government’s Solar Sharer Program is a world-leading initiative that addresses a uniquely Australian challenge: we have so much energy being collected via rooftop solar that wholesale electricity prices often become negative during sunny midday hours when demand is usually not very high compared to later in the afternoon and evening.
We think it’s a great idea, in fact, GloBird Energy already offers a similar “scheme”, allowing eligible households to access free electricity during the day via our FOUR4FREE plan.
Just like the Government’s Solar Sharer scheme, GloBird’s FOUR4FREE plan aims to reduce our reliance on energy later in the day when solar is less prevalent in the overall grid energy mix and overnight when it’s not in the mix at all.
It’s just another part of the evolving renewable energy landscape.