Adelaide · South Australia
In Adelaide, the only solar value worth counting is the power you don't buy
South Australia has more rooftop solar than anywhere else in the country. That makes exports close to worthless and self-consumption unusually valuable, and it should shape every number in a proposal.
One test for any Adelaide solar proposal
Ask for the payback figure recalculated with export revenue set to zero. If the project still works, it's a sound one. If the numbers fall apart, the proposal was resting on income that South Australia's grid conditions make unreliable, and you've just found that out for free.
What South Australia actually offers
South Australia has no commercial solar rebate. STCs are the whole of the up-front support.
What South Australia does have is the highest share of rooftop solar in the country, and that changes the economics rather than the incentives. Midday wholesale prices are frequently at or below zero, so exports are worth very little and the value of a system sits almost entirely in offsetting what you'd otherwise buy.
The flip side is genuinely good news for the right business. South Australian retail electricity is expensive, so every kilowatt-hour a system displaces is worth more here than in most of the country. A site running plant through the middle of the day is offsetting power at a high rate, which is exactly where solar earns its return. The method is on the cost and payback page.
SA Power Networks, and flexible exports
One network covers the whole state, which makes South Australia the most straightforward connection process of the four cities.
New systems in South Australia have to meet flexible export requirements, which means the network can remotely reduce your export limit when the grid is congested. It's a normal part of the design here and a competent installer builds for it.
Because midday exports earn so little, an Adelaide proposal that leans on export revenue to make the payback look good is not one to trust. Ask for the numbers with export revenue set to zero and see whether it still stacks up.
- Network operator
- SA Power Networks
- Coverage
- The whole state, one process
- STC zone
- Zone 4
- Annual yield
- 1,450 kWh per kW
- State rebate
- None
- Export control
- Flexible exports required
Where the good Adelaide projects are
Food processing, cold storage, irrigation, manufacturing on day shift, and anything with refrigeration running through the afternoon. These sites consume most of what they generate, which is the condition Adelaide rewards. They also tend to carry demand charges, and a well-designed system can reduce those as well as the consumption charge.
Sites with heavy evening or overnight load get a smaller system and a longer payback here. That's a real answer and sometimes the right one. It's better to hear it before a deposit than after the first quarterly bill.
What happens after a proposal is accepted is on the installation page.
Adelaide questions
Is commercial solar still worth it in Adelaide if exports pay nothing?
For most businesses, yes. The return comes from not buying power at retail rates, and South Australian retail rates are among the highest in the country. A business consuming most of what it generates does well here. A business planning to sell power back does not, and that distinction matters more in Adelaide than anywhere else.
What are flexible exports?
New South Australian systems have to be capable of having their export limit adjusted remotely by the network when the grid is congested, which in practice means during sunny low-demand periods. It's a normal design requirement here and a competent installer builds for it. It matters mainly because it makes any proposal that leans on export revenue even less reliable.
Does South Australia have a commercial solar rebate?
No. Federal STCs are the whole of the upfront support, and Adelaide's zone rating means the discount is the same band as Melbourne rather than the higher one Brisbane and Perth get.
Why are midday electricity prices so low in South Australia?
South Australia has the highest share of rooftop solar of any state, so on a sunny mild day there is more generation than the state can use and wholesale prices fall to zero or below. That's excellent for a business consuming its own solar and worthless for one hoping to export at a decent rate.
Send an Adelaide bill and we'll run it without export revenue
One recent bill is enough to size a system and price it. It costs nothing, there's no obligation, and you'll hear back within 48 hours.