{"id":98438,"date":"2026-03-24T09:03:06","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T23:33:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=98438"},"modified":"2026-03-23T12:05:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T02:35:14","slug":"nsw-apartment-solar-gets-real-as-soar-deadline-looms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/nsw-apartment-solar-gets-real-as-soar-deadline-looms\/","title":{"rendered":"NSW Apartment Solar Gets Real As SoAR Deadline Looms"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"NSW<\/p>\n

The first shared rooftop solar installations under NSW\u2019s Solar for Apartment Residents (SoAR) program are now complete, with projects in Newtown and Camperdown already delivering savings for residents. With the grant closing on March 30, 2026, apartment owners and strata committees have just days left to secure funding under the program.<\/p>\n

Can Apartment Solar Finally Crack The ‘Too Hard’ Basket?<\/h2>\n

For years, rooftop solar has largely bypassed apartment dwellers. Split ownership, billing complexity, and limited roof space have made it far harder than for standalone homes. But two recent inner-west Sydney installations suggest that may be starting to change.<\/p>\n

Completed under the NSW\u2013Federal SoAR grant program<\/a>, the projects in Newtown and Camperdown use shared solar systems to distribute rooftop generation across multiple units \u2014 without requiring embedded networks or changes to residents\u2019 existing electricity meters.<\/p>\n

At a 22-unit building in Newtown, reported as the first rooftop solar system switched on under the SoAR grant program, Solahart installed a 52\u202fkW system with around half the upfront cost covered by the grant. Apartment owner Veronica Tseng-Donald said the project only became feasible once the grant was available:<\/p>\n

“The cost and strata complexities proved too much of a challenge,” she said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Newtown system uses 104 Solahart premium panels paired with a GoodWe inverter and is fully battery-ready, allowing storage to be added later.<\/p>\n

“Residents are now saving approximately $440 \u2013 $800 annually on energy bills, with the system reducing 38.2\u202ftonnes of CO\u2082 each year,” said Stephen Cranch, General Manager of Solahart Industries.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A second system at a heritage-listed Camperdown complex \u2014 covering six strata plans and 13 residents \u2014 was also installed by Solahart, using 54 panels generating 25.9\u202fkW. Like Newtown, it is battery-ready for future storage. Cranch added:<\/p>\n

“Residents at The Gantry are expected to reduce their annual energy costs by an average of 35 per cent and cut 20.3 tonnes of CO\u2082 emissions each year.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What\u2019s Making This Possible<\/h2>\n
\"An

Allume’s SolShare system allows apartment complexes to share the benefits of their building’s solar.<\/p><\/div>\n

A key enabler in both projects, including the Newtown and Camperdown installs, is Allume Energy\u2019s SolShare system<\/a>. It allows rooftop generation to be fairly allocated across individually metered apartments without requiring changes to residents\u2019 existing electricity meters.<\/p>\n

In simple terms, the system distributes solar in real time to units that are actively using electricity. When multiple apartments are drawing power, the available solar is shared between them, helping to spread the benefit across the building \u2014 although households with higher daytime usage tend to gain the most.<\/p>\n

The SoAR program has also helped shift the economics. With grants covering up to 50% of installation costs (capped at $150,000), the upfront financial barrier \u2014 often the biggest hurdle in getting strata approval \u2014 is significantly reduced. In the Newtown case, the building was able to use existing capital works funds to cover its share of the system, so residents didn\u2019t have to pay any additional one-off levies.<\/p>\n

A Working Model \u2014 But Still Early Days<\/h2>\n

These Newtown and Camperdown installs are among the first completed projects under the SoAR program, which has now approved funding for 138 recipients, with a total of $6.1\u202fmillion allocated.<\/p>\n

Apartment solar still depends on several favourable conditions:<\/p>\n