Solar power in Australia

Solar power is a major contributor to electricity supply in Australia. As of June 2025, Australia's over 4.16 million solar PV installations had a combined capacity of 41.8 GW photovoltaic (PV) solar power. Solar accounted for 19.6% (or 46.7 TWh) of Australia's electrical energy production in the National Electricity Market and South West Interconnected System in 2024.

The sudden rise in solar PV installations in Australia since 2018 dramatically propelled the country from being considered a relative laggard to a strong leader in under two years. Australia has the highest per capita solar capacity, now over 1.4kW.

The installed PV capacity in Australia increased 10-fold between 2009 and 2011, and quadrupled between 2011 and 2016. The first commercial-scale PV power plant, the 1 MW Uterne Solar Power Station, was opened in 2011. The price of photovoltaics decreased, and by 2013, the cost of solar power was less than half that of using grid electricity.

The largest share of solar PV installations in 2018 was from grid-connected distributed sources totalling 8,030 MW. These are rooftop systems in the residential, commercial and industrial sectors. For the purposes of the data, residential grid connect are systems <9.5 kW, commercial are systems between 9.5 and 99.9 kW and industrial are 100 kW to 5 MW. Grid connected-centralised plants was the next largest sector in 2018 with 3,272 MW installed, representing utility scale ground mounted solar with a power rating > 5 MW. Off-grid solar PV was the smallest segment at 284 MW in 2018.

Growth accelerated dramatically during 2018 in both rooftop distributed solar and utility-scale solar which became a significant component by the end of the year.

By year end 2018, Australia had 1.96 million residential rooftop solar systems and 78,000 commercial and industrial rooftop solar systems, for a total of 2.04 million total rooftop PV systems. Over 200,000 were installed in 2018 alone and the country was on track to install as many again in 2019. Australia leads the world in residential uptake of solar, with a nation-wide average of free-standing households with a PV system at over 20%. By early 2020, Australia had 10.7 GW of rooftop solar in 2.4 million systems. By 2021, Australia had 13 GW of rooftop solar. Where new inverters (solar or batteries) are installed, they are required to have certain functions such as low-voltage ride-through and grid support to handle local grid issues and improve power quality. As per AS/NZS 3000 Wiring Rules assembly performed without a licensed electrician must be extra low voltage setups not exceeding 50 V AC or 120 V ripple-free DC.

Australia has an abundance of solar energy resource that is likely to be used for energy generation on a large scale. The combination of Australia's dry climate and latitude give it high benefits and potential for solar energy production. Most of the Australian continent receives in excess of 4 kilowatt-hours (14 MJ) per square metre per day of insolation during winter months, with a region in the north exceeding 6 kilowatt-hours (22 MJ) per square metre per day. Western and Northern Australia have the maximum potential for PV production. Insolation greatly exceeds the average values in Europe, Russia, and most of North America. Comparable levels are found in desert areas of northern and southern Africa, south western United States and adjacent area of Mexico, and regions on the Pacific coast of South America. However, the areas of highest insolation are distant to Australia's population centres.

According to the Institute for Sustainable Futures, the School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering (SPREE) at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Australia has the potential to install 179 GW of solar power on roofs across the nation. At the end of 2018 Australia had just over 8 GW of rooftop solar.