Rooftop solar being overlooked by Australian policymakers

This is to the detriment of all the rural communities battling compulsory acquisition of land for renewable energy zones and transmission lines.

New data from the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), released just prior to Christmas, reveals rooftop solar alone contributed more electricity to the grid in the first quarter of 2023 than grid-scale solar sources such as wind, hydro or gas, making up more than 12 per cent of total electricity generation.

In its draft 2024 Integrated System Plan, AEMO says the growth in new rooftop solar systems has averaged 12pc year-on-year over the past five years, to reach 3.1 million systems in 2023.

Put another way, rooftop solar is now "three times as common in Australia as backyard pools".

And it is capable of meeting 48pc of underlying energy demand across Australia's national energy market in the middle of a sunny day.

However, with close to 11 million stand-alone dwellings in Australia - in addition to apartment blocks as well as commercial buildings - there is still considerable capacity yet to ramp up rooftop solar across Australia.

Non-profit, independent research group, Rewiring Australia, says a "rooftop revolution" has been underway for some time now, leading calls for AEMO to shift the focus of its energy planning to incorporate more rooftop solar.

This would benefit metropolitan consumers and ease ballooning cost-of-living pressures.

But more importantly, it could also alleviate some of the push into rural areas by large scale renewable developments and associated transmission infrastructure.

At the practical level, installation costs, battery storage and building restrictions are the main factors holding up greater uptake of rooftop solar, while the competition to utility-scale assets and traditional demand for grid power could be complicating policy and planning.

Federal leader of The Nationals David Littleproud has repeatedly called out the "reckless race" to meet a renewable energy target which was having massive consequences on communities and landscapes throughout rural Australia.

He said the federal government needed to "stop putting all its energy eggs in one basket".

Mr Littleproud also said the government needed to look to addressing issues around popular, viable renewable options like rooftop solar so rural communities weren't saddled with most of the burden of developing large-scale renewables.

It's clear from its rapid uptake that rooftop solar isn't subject to the same social licence or land access concerns plaguing renewable projects in rural areas.

While large-scale projects will still be needed to meet the targets of the government, policies which focussed on freeing up some of the red tape around more small-scale solar installation in the cities - which is where the demand for energy is the greatest - might not only help accelerate the transition but also take some of the heat out of the incessant advance onto rural land for energy.