Australia's rooftop solar reaches 1,894 MW in the first half of 2026, with home batteries hitting a new high

en.Wedoany.com Reported - The "Rooftop Solar and Energy Storage Report" released by the Clean Energy Council (CEC) of Australia shows that in the first six months of 2026, both rooftop solar system and home battery installations in the country hit record highs, with annual solar installations expected to exceed 300,000 systems.

The semi-annual report covering January to June 2026 shows that a total of 180,878 rooftop solar systems were installed in the first half of the year, up 35% compared with the same period in 2025, the strongest six-month total since 2021; newly added installed capacity reached 1,894 MW, up 41% year on year, the highest six-month level on record.

Among them, 102,234 new rooftop solar installations were added in the June 2026 quarter, a record, corresponding to 1,079 MW of installed capacity, the largest quarterly total on record.

The CEC said the above data indicate that rooftop solar installations are expected to exceed 300,000 systems again this year. Last year's full-year installations were 273,672 systems, falling below this threshold for the first time since 2020. The organization said installations have rebounded significantly and considers the success of the federal government's "Cheaper Home Batteries Program" to be a key driving factor.

The report points out that battery incentives do not appear to have replaced rooftop photovoltaics, but instead have driven new solar installations, with many households installing or upgrading solar while adding energy storage.

In terms of energy storage, 276,011 home batteries were installed in the first six months of 2026, 52% higher than in the previous six-month period; newly added storage capacity reached 8,691 MWh, more than double the 4,221 MWh added in the second half of 2025. In the first 12 months of the federal government's home battery subsidy program, a cumulative 457,439 batteries were installed, with total consumer energy storage capacity of 12.9 GWh.

Battery installation is currently faster than solar system installation. Data show that for every 100 rooftop solar systems installed in the first half of 2026, 153 batteries were deployed, up from 130 per 100 systems in the second half of 2025. The CEC believes this indicates that, in addition to new solar and storage packages driving the rooftop photovoltaic recovery, many retrofits were also carried out on existing solar homes.

CEC Chief Executive Jackie Trad said the record rollout of rooftop solar and batteries is a win-win for Australians, providing energy security and lowering bills during a period of global instability and economic uncertainty. She said Australia is in the midst of a home solar boom, and the country's rooftop solar capacity now exceeds the combined capacity of all remaining coal-fired power plants; the historic growth of household renewable energy is a victory for both consumers and the nation, bringing value and reliability and improving the security of the national energy supply.

The rollout of rooftop photovoltaics continues to contribute to the national energy mix, accounting for 12.9% of generation in the first six months of 2026. Trad said the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES) will soon be expanded to support solar systems up to 1 MW, which will further drive solar installations.

Investment by households and small businesses in solar and energy storage has far exceeded the Australian Energy Market Operator's (AEMO) central planning scenario. At the current pace, by 2029-30, rooftop solar in Australia's National Electricity Market (NEM) is expected to reach 40.3 GW, about 4.5 GW, or 13%, higher than AEMO's ISP Step Change scenario; consumer battery storage will reach 59.2 GWh, 79% higher than the 33 GWh forecast in the ISP.