Australia’s Rooftop Solar Sets New Record Amid Spring Surge
Recent sunny spring temperatures have led to a remarkable series of renewable energy achievements in Australia over the past week. Notably, the National Electricity Market (NEM) saw an unprecedented surge in rooftop solar output, shattering the previous record by nearly half a gigawatt just three weeks after it had been established.
As detailed by Geoff Eldridge from Global Power Energy, this new rooftop solar milestone capped off a “spectacular sequence” of solar and wind energy records. This event included new peak outputs for rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems across three states, along with record levels of solar and wind energy being curtailed.
Record-Breaking Output on October 11
The peak output occurred on Sunday, 11 October, when rooftop PV systems in the NEM reached an instantaneous output of 17,488 MW at noon, exceeding the previous record of 16,993 MW set on 20 September by 495 MW, which is a 2.91% increase within this short time frame.
In comparison to the historical benchmark of 15,100 MW recorded on 4 October 2025, the new output reflects an increase of 2,388 MW (+15.81%), as noted by Eldridge.
State Records Set Across Australia
In New South Wales, a state record for rooftop solar output was achieved on Friday, 09 October, when generation reached an all-time high of 6,346 MW, surpassing the previous mark of 6,106 MW set only nine days earlier on 30 September by 241 MW (+3.94%). This achievement followed state-record milestones in South Australia and Victoria earlier in the week.
On 7 October, South Australia became the first state to exceed 2 gigawatts of energy from rooftop solar, achieving a new instantaneous peak of 2,070 MW at 12:30 pm. That same day, Victoria also made headlines, hitting a peak output of 4,191 MW at midday, surpassing its earlier record of 4,036 MW from 5 January 2026 by 155 MW (+3.85%).
Challenges of Curtailment
Despite this significant increase in rooftop solar generation, substantial amounts of renewable energy from large-scale solar and wind were curtailed, underscoring the urgent need for enhanced energy storage solutions. Eldridge emphasises the considerable volume of renewable energy generation that went unutilised during these record-breaking periods.
On the same day as the new rooftop PV record, Victoria noted an instantaneous renewable curtailment peak of 5,709 MW at 12:15 pm, occurring just 15 minutes post the rooftop achievement, which surpassed the state’s prior curtailment record of 5,279 MW set on 20 September 2026 by 430 MW (+8.15%). Compared to the historical figure of 4,798 MW on 10 October 2025, this represented an increase of 911 MW (+18.98%), as outlined by Eldridge.
Further Records in Wind and Solar
Additional noteworthy records included wind curtailment across the NEM amounting to 6,425 MW, with Victoria experiencing wind curtailment of 4,229 MW, solar curtailment of 1,554 MW, and South Australia recording wind curtailment of 1,910 MW.
A chart illustrating Victoria’s generation profile on 11 October highlights the “Dolphin Curve,” depicting midday renewable curtailment and the extent of available renewable generation that was not dispatched. Eldridge notes that this chart offers a visual representation complementary to the familiar Duck Curve, emphasising renewable energy availability beyond just the dispatched generation.
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