Australia’s commercial and industrial (C&I) rooftops are a potential source of untapped renewable energy resource that could supercharge the nation’s grid as coal-fired power stations close, according to a new report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).
The report, Unlocking the clean energy potential of Australian business rooftops, reveals that while Australia leads the world in residential solar with 22 gigawatts (GW) installed, businesses have installed a mere 5.6GW.
This is despite the commercial sector consuming substantially more electricity than households.
Studies indicate the technical rooftop solar potential across Australian commercial and industrial zones sits near 40GW, expanding to over 80GW when agricultural areas are included.
However, current forecasts suggest Australia could fall drastically short, with the CSIRO projecting slow growth to just 17GW by 2050.
“The power-generating capacity installed on household roofs in Australia is roughly equal to that of the coal plants in our grids,” said co-author Johanna Bowyer, lead analyst, Australian electricity at IEEFA.
“However, we have not seen the same scale of action within Australia’s commercial and industrial buildings even though they consume substantially more electricity than the household sector.”
The report identifies four critical barriers stalling investment: distorted investment frameworks for renting businesses, a patchwork of complex and inconsistent network tariffs, slow and unpredictable grid connection processes, and a regulatory regime that prevents solar and storage providers from competing evenly with networks.
To unlock this segment, the report calls for improved government incentive schemes and standardised network tariffs to replace complex demand charges, which currently make up to 40 per cent of business electricity bills.
It also recommends harmonising technical requirements nationwide to fast-track grid connections.
“Governments need to develop a more comprehensive, long-term policy framework to drive decarbonisation of the electricity sector,” co-author Tristan Edis said.
“In absence of this or as an interim step, incentives for the business sector should be considered to help the ‘missing middle’ overcome sub-optimal levels of investment by businesses in non-core energy projects.”
