Sharing the solar boom

With daytime solar generation increasingly flooding the grid, Owen Hill looks at how the Solar Sharer Offer aims to extend the benefits of cheap renewable electricity to more Australian households.

Renew readers: here is a chance to reduce your electricity bills by making greater use of abundant daytime solar energy!

In Australia, the rollout of rooftop solar has been a remarkable success, supported by government incentives and falling technology costs. Installations of rooftop PV systems and home batteries continue to grow, helping reduce reliance on fossil-fuel generation and increasing the share of renewable energy in the electricity system.

The rapid growth of rooftop solar means that so much solar energy is now generated in the middle of the day that wholesale electricity prices often fall dramatically and can even become negative (meaning there is more electricity available than the market needs at that time). According to the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), rooftop solar output reached record levels in late 2025 and at one point supplied as much as 61% of operational demand in the National Electricity Market.

Enter shared solar

Recognising both the success of rooftop solar and the cost-of-living pressures facing many households, the Federal Government sought public feedback on the proposed Solar Sharer Offer in late 2025.

Owners of rooftop solar systems already benefit from generating their own electricity during daylight hours. The Solar Sharer Offer (SSO) is designed to extend the benefits of abundant daytime solar energy to more households, including renters, apartment residents and others who cannot install solar panels themselves.

Under the scheme, eligible households with a smart meter can register through a participating electricity retailer to receive three hours of free electricity in the middle of the day, when solar generation is abundant.

Renew lodged a submission that broadly supported the initiative, applauding its potential to encourage households to shift electricity consumption into periods of excess renewable energy generation. However, the submission also expressed concerns about aspects of the scheme’s design and suggested a range of possible enhancements.

Renew’s concerns included the potential impacts of direct government intervention on competition between electricity retailers, interactions with network tariffs and uncertainty about how households would respond to the offer. Renew also questioned whether the SSO could unintentionally discourage some households from investing in rooftop solar or battery storage if the policy was not carefully designed.

Following public consultation on the proposal, the Australian Government announced the Solar Sharer Offer as part of reforms to the Default Market Offer framework. From 1 July 2026, eligible households in New South Wales, South Australia and south-east Queensland can sign up through participating retailers. The amount of free electricity available under the scheme is capped at 25kWh per household per day.

The scheme is intended to encourage consumers to shift electricity use into periods when renewable energy is plentiful. Running appliances such as washing machines, dishwashers, clothes dryers, pool pumps, electric vehicle chargers and home batteries during the free-power period can help households reduce their electricity bills while also easing pressure on the grid during evening peaks.

The Solar Sharer Offer will not suit every household. Consumers will still pay a daily supply charge and will be charged for electricity used outside the free-power period. Households that are able to shift a significant portion of their electricity consumption to the middle of the day are likely to see the greatest savings.

Victoria is pursuing a similar approach through its Midday Power Saver scheme, which is due to commence on 1 October 2026. Government estimates suggest Victorian households could save between $149 and $1102 per year, depending on how much electricity use they can shift into the free-power period. While actual savings under the Solar Sharer Offer will vary, households that make good use of the scheme could substantially reduce their annual electricity costs.

The bottom line

The Solar Sharer Offer is now available and many Australian households have the opportunity to benefit from energy savings. If you are interested in the scheme, contact your electricity retailer to determine whether you are eligible and whether the offer suits your usage patterns. Households that can shift more of their electricity use into the free-power period are likely to achieve the greatest savings. For homes that are unoccupied during the day, timers, smart controls and home energy management systems can help automate electricity use and capture more of the available benefits.

For years, the greatest benefits of rooftop solar have largely been enjoyed by households able to install their own systems. The Solar Sharer Offer is an attempt to spread those benefits more widely. As Australia’s solar generation continues to grow, households that can shift some of their electricity use into the middle of the day could enjoy meaningful savings while helping make better use of the country’s abundant renewable energy.