Australia's rooftop solar boom drove wholesale power prices down 47%

Over 700 MW of new rooftop solar and a battery surge helped cut Australian wholesale electricity prices to their lowest June quarter since 2020.

Australia's National Electricity Market added more than 700 MW of rooftop solar in the June 2026 quarter, lifting cumulative rooftop capacity from 25.7 GW to 26.4 GW across 3.9 million installations. Household battery storage grew by nearly 3.3 GWh — a 41% jump in a single quarter. On the grid scale, 14 new generation and storage projects totalling 3.9 GW reached full output, double the previous quarterly record, mostly batteries and solar.

The effect on the numbers that reach households was direct. Average NEM wholesale electricity prices fell 47% year-on-year to AUD 74 per MWh, the lowest June quarter average since 2020. Renewables reached a Q2 high of 42.1% of NEM generation, up from 37.1% a year earlier, while coal generation fell 5% and gas dropped 30%. Distributed solar output averaged a record 2,520 MW.

This is abundance showing up where people feel it. When cheap solar and storage displace fuel-burning plants, wholesale prices fall, and that pressure eventually flows into bills. The pairing of rooftop panels with fast-growing home batteries is what lets that cheap midday power carry into the evening.

One counterpoint sits in the same data: in Western Australia's separate WEM, the renewable share slipped from 33.6% to 32% and wholesale prices rose 30% to AUD 118 per MWh — a reminder that outcomes depend on the mix in each market. The figures come from AEMO's Quarterly Energy Dynamics report.

Source: pv magazine