The New South Wales government has launched a $25 million Solar for Apartment Residents incentive, aimed at boosting shared rooftop solar systems in apartment buildings.
This program, co-funded with the federal government as part of the Community Solar Banks program, has been welcomed by Solar Citizens, a renewable energy advocacy group.
The initiative will cover up to 50 per cent of the cost of installing shared solar systems on apartments with up to 55 dwellings, potentially benefiting around 1,000 of NSW’s approximately 90,000 strata schemes.
Residents could save up to $600 annually on their energy bills.
Solar Citizens CEO Heidi Douglas praised the program, calling it “fantastic news for people living in low and mid-rise apartments who have previously been locked out installing rooftop solar due to the upfront installation costs.”
However, Douglas also highlighted a significant oversight in the program.
She pointed out that nearly a quarter of all apartment dwellers in Greater Sydney live in high-rise buildings, many of which will be ineligible for the program due to the 55-unit limit.
The issue is compounded by the NSW government’s Transport Oriented Development (TOD) program, which is set to deliver 185,000 new dwellings over 15 years, primarily apartments and high-density housing.
Douglas criticised the lack of requirements or incentives for these new developments to incorporate rooftop solar or other clean energy infrastructure.
“It’s a serious oversight that there is currently no requirement or incentive for new apartments being built under the TOD scheme to have rooftop solar or other clean energy infrastructure,” Douglas stated.
She urged the Minns government to mandate rooftop solar under the TOD Program, arguing that this would “deliver affordable energy bills for future apartment residents, and avoid a cost-shifting exercise whereby the cost of installing solar or other clean energy upgrades is unnecessarily pushed onto consumers.”
The debate highlights the challenges of implementing renewable energy solutions in urban environments, particularly in high-density areas.
As cities continue to grow vertically, policymakers will need to address these issues to ensure equitable access to clean energy for all residents.
