Australia's government has announced a pioneering scheme to provide every household with three hours of free electricity daily, starting in 2026. The initiative aims to utilize excess solar power generated during the day. If successful, it could inspire similar policies worldwide.
The Australian electricity grid faces excess capacity from solar power during daylight hours but strains at night. To tackle this, the government introduced the "Solar Sharer" scheme, a world-first national initiative. It will roll out from July 2026 in New South Wales, South Australia, and the southeast corner of Queensland, expanding nationwide in 2027.
Australia leads globally in solar deployment, with 42 gigawatts installed—equivalent to over 1,500 watts per person, five times the world average, according to Bin Lu at the Australian National University in Canberra. Another 40 gigawatts of new renewable capacity is planned by 2030. "As a result, there’s abundant solar power injecting into the grid in the middle of the day," Lu says. "If it isn’t effectively used, it’ll simply be wasted."
Four million households have rooftop solar panels that feed into the grid, but renters and apartment dwellers often miss out. The scheme addresses this by offering free power during peak solar production. Marnie Shaw, also at the Australian National University, explains: "It gives everybody access to solar power in a very simple way. You don’t need to buy a share in a solar farm. You don’t need a battery. You just use the solar power that’s already being produced by others. When you’re using power in the middle of the day, you’ll be using the excess power produced by your neighbour’s rooftop solar."
While similar time-based discounts exist from suppliers in Australia and Europe, this government-led program is unprecedented in scale. Critics raise concerns. Dylan McConnell at the University of New South Wales warns it might discourage new solar installations: "You sharpen your pencil and start doing the calculations when you’re thinking about putting solar on your house. Then someone says ‘hey its free power for 3 hours in the middle of the day’, you might reconsider that decision."
He notes potential issues like increased battery purchases, reduced value for existing solar owners, administrative complexities, and risks of suppliers raising other prices. Alexandr Akimov at Griffith University highlights weather risks: "There is a risk that during rainy days, particularly when wide weather fronts cover the eastern states, that high daytime consumption combined with low solar generation could lead to spikes in daytime grid demand."
Glenn Platt at the University of Sydney sees it as a social experiment: "It means huge change, and we’re assuming that energy consumers will do certain things. It’s less about the electrons and the dollars and more about the behavioural change." As other nations advance in solar adoption, Australia's approach will be closely observed.