Rooftop solar generation continues to reach new heights in Australia’s main grid with clear skies helping drive record output from household and business solar systems across the National Electricity Market.
The string of records from Australia’s renewable energy transition continue to tumble with rooftop solar output reaching a new all-time high of 17,488 MW in the National Electricity Market (NEM) at noon on Sunday.
Geoff Eldridge from Global Power Energy (GPE NEMLog) said the new peak is 495 MW higher than the previous record of 16,993 MW set just two weeks earlier and 2,388 MW, or 15.81% up on the 15,100 MW generated on 4 October 2025.
At the time of the new rooftop solar generation peak, combined distributed PV and utility-scale solar share of NEM consumption reached a record 72.29%, up from the 70.80% achieved on 12 September 2026.
Eldridge said the latest rooftop solar output milestone is part of a “remarkable run” with four new records across three regions in just five days.
On Wednesday, 7 October Victoria recorded 4,191 MW of rooftop solar generation, surpassing its previous high of 4,036 MW set in January this year. During this peak interval, renewables contributed 65.9% of the state’s total generation.
On the same day, South Australia recorded a new rooftop solar peak of 2,070 MW, eclipsing the previous peak of 1,970 MW set two weeks earlier. At the time of the new high, renewables covered 96.3% of the state’s total electricity demand.
On Friday, 9 October New South Wales recorded a new rooftop solar generation peak of 6,346 MW, 241 MW higher than the previous record of 6,106 MW set nine days earlier.
Eldridge highlighted that the new peaks are instantaneous output records and not daily energy production records but pointed out that they do demonstrate the growing contribution of renewable energy across the NEM.
“They reinforce the expanding contribution of consumer energy resources and the changing daytime operating environment across the NEM,” he said.
The Australian Energy Market Operator said between 1 January and 30 September 2026, renewable energy has accounted for an average of 44% of all electricity generation across the NEM. About 4 million Australian homes and small businesses have embraced rooftop solar, having installed an estimated 22 GW of rooftop PV capacity, and that enthusiasm is continuing to build with 2026 on track to be a record year of installations.
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