Solar panels in Sydney
At Sydney's coordinates, PVGIS gives about 1,502 kWh a year for every kWp of panels, which is 9,013 kWh for a 6 kWp system. Postcode 2000 falls in STC zone 3 (zone rating 1.382) in the Clean Energy Regulator table used to calculate small-scale technology certificates for solar PV. Four verified local rules and their sources are listed below. Year-one savings come to about AUD 1,196, for a simple payback of 5.7 years. On yield, Sydney is 2nd of our 4 Australia cities. For comparison, Perth reaches 1,618. In our full list of 41 cities worldwide, Sydney is 10th. Output peaks in October (851 kWh) and bottoms out in June (575 kWh).
Month by month in Sydney
Modelled output of a 6 kWp system at 35° facing north (towards the equator), from PVGIS climate data (PVGIS-ERA5, 2005 to 2023).
| Month | kWh | Share of year |
|---|---|---|
| January | 801 | 8.9% |
| February | 714 | 7.9% |
| March | 748 | 8.3% |
| April | 706 | 7.8% |
| May | 691 | 7.7% |
| June | 575 | 6.4% |
| July | 683 | 7.6% |
| August | 782 | 8.7% |
| September | 840 | 9.3% |
| October | 851 | 9.4% |
| November | 799 | 8.9% |
| December | 824 | 9.1% |
- Best month: October (851 kWh). Weakest: June (575 kWh), a 1.5x difference.
- September, October, December produce 27.9% of the year; May, June, July produce 21.6%.
- Year-to-year variation: about 280 kWh (3.1%, one standard deviation).
- Sunlight reaching the panels: 1,973 kWh per m² a year.
Local rules and support in Sydney
Rules set by the city or its region, on top of the national scheme. Each one was checked against the official source on the date shown.
- Postcode 2000 (Sydney)
STC postcode zone 3
Postcode 2000 falls in STC zone 3 (zone rating 1.382) in the Clean Energy Regulator table used to calculate small-scale technology certificates for solar PV.
Source: Clean Energy Regulator, Postcode zone ratings and zones for solar (photovoltaic) systems (as of 1 January 2020) (checked 2026-09-25)
- New South Wales
IPART solar feed-in benchmark 2026-27
IPART's all-day solar feed-in tariff benchmark for NSW in 2026-27 is 3.4 to 6.5 c/kWh. It is a guide to what exports are worth, not a mandatory minimum.
Source: IPART, Solar feed-in tariff benchmarks for 2024-25 to 2026-27 (checked 2026-09-25)
- New South Wales
Default Market Offer 2026-27
The AER's Default Market Offer caps standing offer prices in NSW. For 2026-27 the residential flat-rate DMO fell between 3.4% and 5.0% depending on distribution zone, and retailers must also offer a regulated Solar Sharer Offer with three free midday hours for smart-meter customers.
Source: Australian Energy Regulator, AER releases final Default Market Offer 2026-27 (26 May 2026) (checked 2026-09-25)
- New South Wales
NSW battery incentive now via virtual power plants
The NSW battery installation discount is no longer available to home owners. NSW instead pays an upfront incentive for connecting a battery (2 to 50 kWh from 1 July 2026) to a virtual power plant, which can be combined with the federal Cheaper Home Batteries discount.
Source: NSW Climate and Energy Action, Virtual power plant (VPP) incentive (checked 2026-09-25)
How Sydney compares
Sydney ranks 2 of 4 for yield among the cities we model in Australia, and 10 of 41 across every country on Solar Figures. Within one country the prices are the same, so a payback gap between these cities comes from sunshine alone.
| City | kWh per kWp / yr | Payback (AUD) |
|---|---|---|
| Perth | 1,618 | 5.3 yrs |
| Sydney | 1,502 | 5.7 yrs |
| Brisbane | 1,469 | 5.8 yrs |
| Melbourne | 1,382 | 6.4 yrs |
| National reference point (country page) | 1,498 | 5.7 yrs |
Closest yield abroad: Barcelona (1,508 kWh per kWp), Madrid (1,548 kWh per kWp), Delhi (1,552 kWh per kWp).
What moves the payback in Sydney
Power you use yourself is worth the retail price (A$0.33 per kWh); power you export earns A$0.05. So the share you use at home, by running appliances in daylight or adding a battery, changes the payback. The system cost stays the same in every row (a battery would add to it).
| Used at home | Year-1 savings | Payback |
|---|---|---|
| 20% | A$946 | 7.3 yrs |
| 30% (our default) | A$1,196 | 5.7 yrs |
| 50% | A$1,695 | 4.0 yrs |
| 70% | A$2,195 | 3.0 yrs |
- Net system cost after incentives: A$6,522 for 6 kWp.
- Incentive modelled: A$1,578 (SRES STC point-of-sale rebate (~263 AUD/kWp: Zone 3 1.382 x 5-yr deeming (2026) x ~38 AUD/STC); declines one deeming year each 1 Jan to 2030).
- 25-year net savings at our default: A$31,313.
Best panel angle in Sydney
At latitude 33.87°S, PVGIS finds the fixed tilt and direction that maximise yearly output. Our figures use a common 35° roof; the table shows what the optimum adds.
| Setup | Tilt | Facing | kWh per kWp / yr |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard roof (used on this page) | 35° | north | 1,502 |
| PVGIS optimum (tilt only, facing the equator) | 34° | north (1°) | 1,502 |
In Sydney a 35° roof is already at the optimum. Most of a roof's value comes from its direction: a roof facing away from the equator loses far more than a few degrees of tilt.
See the full Australia picture on our Australia solar page, or the national incentives in our Australia solar guide.
Sources and method
Figures computed 2026-09-25 for a 6 kWp system, 35° tilt, 14% system losses, terrain shading on. An estimate, not a quote: your installer's quote will be exact.
- PVGIS 5.3 PVcalc (PVGIS-ERA5), European Commission JRC (checked 2026-09-25)
- Australia tariff and incentive inputs (see DATA_SOURCES.md) (checked 2026-06-21)
- Australia tariff and incentive inputs (see DATA_SOURCES.md) (checked 2026-06-21)
- IPART: Solar feed-in tariff benchmarks for 2024-25 to 2026-27 (checked 2026-09-25)
- Australian Energy Regulator: AER releases final Default Market Offer 2026-27 (26 May 2026) (checked 2026-09-25)
- NSW Climate and Energy Action: Virtual power plant (VPP) incentive (checked 2026-09-25)
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