Australia’s clean energy transition is set to take another major step forward, with the Clean Energy Council (CEC) welcoming the Federal Government’s new Solar Sharer retail energy initiative – a reform designed to spread the benefits of rooftop solar more widely and reshape how households consume electricity.
Announced by the Albanese Government and launching in July 2026 across New South Wales, South-East Queensland and South Australia, Solar Sharer will require energy retailers to offer households at least three hours of free electricity in the middle of the day, when rooftop solar generation is at its peak.
Jackie Trad, Chief Executive at CEC, called the initiative: “a smart, future-focused reform” that modernises energy policy in line with how Australians are already generating and using power.
“No other country on earth is generating this much power from home rooftops – and now everybody can share in the benefits of this national triumph,” Trad said.
“This is a smart reform that shifts demand into the solar-rich middle of the day and avoids the high-price evening crunch that pushes everyone’s bills up.”
According to the CEC, Solar Sharer exemplifies good policy design — practical, equitable, and built on existing momentum in household renewable energy adoption.
More than 4.3 million Australian homes now have rooftop solar, and output rose 11 per cent in the third quarter of 2025 – setting a new record according to the Australian Energy Market Operator.
The Council said the program aligns with industry modelling showing that greater use of consumer energy resources – including rooftop solar, smart appliances and home batteries – could unlock $22 billion in system-wide savings, create 18,200 new jobs in installation and energy management, and save households $35 to $71 a year on average.
“We are already seeing retailers pilot free-power windows, Electric Vehicle (EV) charging incentives and battery-bundled tariffs. Solar Sharer will help normalise these smart offers,” Trad said.
“It is exactly the kind of initiative that helps us manage daytime oversupply, lower costs for everyone and make the grid work smarter, not harder.”
The CEC confirmed it will continue working with the Federal Government and its members on the broader Default Market Offer (DMO) reforms to remove unnecessary costs and support retailer innovation.
As Australia moves closer to a fully decarbonised grid, Solar Sharer represents a pivotal policy moment – one that re-imagines the humble household power bill as a tool for accelerating the clean-energy transition.
For more information, visit the CEC website.