Plug-in solar has moved a step closer in Australia, with federal, state and territory energy ministers agreeing to explore pathways for its safe deployment. The UK now allows approved systems, while New Zealand is also moving towards legalisation.

But there’s an electrical safety problem SolarQuotes raised when we looked at balcony solar in 2024. Two years later, we finally have a much better answer. [Read more…]

Every year, we survey SolarQuotes installers about their favourite solar panel. For the 2026 edition of the Installer’s Choice Awards, we asked them:

“If you were putting solar panels on your own roof today, which brand would you choose? Not the house of a customer. Not a display home. Not a hypothetical stranger you’ll never see again. Your own roof, your own money and a system you’ll be living with for decades.”

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Solar has a bit of a waste issue presently. With extraordinary growth in both installations and system size, millions of panels are set to come off the roof in the next few years.

So, can we solve the problem? Yes, with just one word, pricing.

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Solar panels installed by Limitless Energy.

When Australian households first started installing solar, there were almost no restrictions on how much energy they could export back to the grid, and they received up to 60c per kWh for exporting it. Fast forward to today, and we have millions of rooftop solar systems meeting more than 13% of the country’s electricity demand. [Read more…]

Most solar owners judge their system by a simple measure: how much energy it produces over the day. If the total looks good, it was a good day. If it’s down, something must be wrong — but that’s not always the full story. [Read more…]

A new report from Pollinate Group shows that “energy access” isn’t always about big infrastructure. In many communities across India and Nepal, it still comes down to small, practical products — delivered by local entrepreneurs who are building incomes at the same time. [Read more…]

The first shared rooftop solar installations under NSW’s Solar for Apartment Residents (SoAR) program are now complete, with projects in Newtown and Camperdown already delivering savings for residents. With applications now closing December 4 2026, apartment owners and strata committees have plenty of time left to secure funding under the program.

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Rooftop solar panels just got another power bump. Several new high-output modules from Chinese manufacturer Aiko have appeared on Australia’s Clean Energy Council approved list, with residential panels ranging from 535 W to 550 W — potentially allowing homeowners to install larger systems on the same roof without adding more panels. [Read more…]

Queensland’s Supercharged Solar for Renters program is beginning to gain traction, with more than 250 applications now conditionally approved and several installations already completed, according to Queensland Treasury.

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Following the announcement of a national solar panel recycling pilot, a parliamentary inquiry has now opened alongside formal requests for industry and public input — signaling that the wheels are finally turning. We spoke with recyclers to get their perspective.

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