Home Solar Power In The Australian Capital Territory

Last Updated: 22nd Jan 2026

It may be small in terms of population and area, but Canberra and the ACT is a giant in renewable energy uptake.

There were more than 64,325 small scale solar power systems installed in the ACT as at the beginning of December 2025 (Source: Clean Energy Regulator).

With a population of 484,000 (March 2025 – Population.Gov) and a collective installed PV capacity of close to 490 megawatts, it works out to around 1.01 kW of rooftop solar installed per person, which is pretty close to the the Australian average of 1 kW. The Australian Photovoltaic Institute pegs the saturation of solar panels on ACT homes at 42.6%, putting it 4th among Australia’s states and territories.

So why does Canberra have such a strong renewables street cred? It’s due to the ACT government’s commitment in 2016 to 100% renewable energy by 2020 — which it achieved. Part of reaching this target has involved the construction of solar farms within the Territory and purchasing electricity from renewables projects situated outside the ACT. The Territory was the world’s pioneer in reverse auctions for renewable energy projects.

With all the focus on renewables, why is the ACT’s small-scale solar power uptake comparatively low? Some of that may have to do with comparatively low electricity prices. Still — why have low when you could have zero electricity bills? More Canberra residents are cottoning onto this – in 2018 residential installations shot up to 18.4 megawatts of capacity, more than double 2017’s 9 megawatts of installations. And the pace of uptake has picked up since.

A good quality 6.6kW solar panel system, properly installed, can generate around 26.4 kilowatt hours of electricity a day on average in the ACT. That’s more than the average Australian household daily electricity consumption. What’s more, solar feed in tariffs are also available in the ACT. This pays a system owner for the surplus electricity they generate that is exported to the mains grid.

A system installation in Canberra can be heavily subsidised under Australia’s “solar rebate”.

Canberra Solar Owners Cotton On To Batteries

Pre-July 2025, solar battery installations in Canberra were still reasonably slow due to the high cost of residential energy storage. But the federal government battery rebate introduced in the middle of the year was a game-changer. Between July and the end of November 2025, 2,374 home batteries were installed, commissioned and registered across the ACT.

If you’re contemplating solar panels and/or a battery installation; now is a great time to move ahead. The following information may help.

Other Canberra Solar Information

If you’re in the ACT and are yet to choose a solar installer, get up to 3 quotes from hand-picked Canberra installation professionals I have carefully checked out and trust who provide installation services in and around Canberra.