Why Solar Is Cheaper in Australia Than America

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In Australia, more than a third of all homes have solar panels installed on their roof. Sometime in the next year, rooftop solar is expected to beat out coal to become the country’s largest source of electricity.
No country has been more successful at encouraging rooftop solar adoption than Australia.
There are many differences between America and Australia’s energy policy and markets. But if you want to understand why Australia has installed so much more rooftop solar than America, there’s only one difference that truly matters. That difference is cost.

[@craigice9635]

Haven't paid for power for 13 years. I actually get a yearly check from the power company for about $800. The solar was paid for after five and a half years.

[@JoshKit]

So it's easier to get a gun than a solar panel??

[@alanhat5252]

yep :-(

[@JonGZBOS]

Murrica!! 🇺🇸 💥 🔫

[@MrXzylonx]

You can walk into Harbor Freight and buy a whole system for $150 that will connect directly to your car battery and be set up in hours because, well, freedom. It does take more effort to connect your solar panel to the grid that impacts several million people instantaneously if you choose to do it wrong than it does to pick up a gun that may impact less than one other person on average during its existance.

[@lukehanson5320]

You might want to look into the NFA process before making a statement like this. I wish it were easier!

[@JonGZBOS]

@@lukehanson5320 depends on the state you live in

[@SamuelGarcia-lf1sm]

It took us 8 months to get past all the permitting for solar in the US. A massive waste of time

[@gasdive]

I used to work in solar permitting in Australia. It is slightly harder than they make out. You need to include a wiring diagram of what you're installing (which can be very basic) and do a voltage rise calculation to show that the voltage won't rise to unacceptable levels when the sun is shining. So it's generally not worth the home owner figuring out how to do it. However, approval generally took a couple of hours unless it was rejected for leaving out information. If it was rejected we'd tell you why, you fix it, resubmit and it would be approved. No inspection required, it's certified by the installers just like any other electrical work.

[@gasdive]

PS, grid scale approvals in Australia mimic those in the USA. I don't know what it's involved in those, but they're currently running around 2 years and that seems to be going up by a year every year. Someone in power wants them blocked. Which is madness because our coal plants are past the design end of life or nearly so, and being held together with sealing wax and string and no one wants to build more. Meanwhile 100 GW of renewables is waiting on permits.

[@kerryjlynch1]

I hope Rewiring America succeeds. Having worked at three utilities & three consultants where I managed solar interconnections, I can assure you that there is a bias at some places. Tucson & San Diego are models that should be commended for embracing reality. The world will change, but the same people who won't get off their cell phones in a meeting will say unfounded things like "Solar is a waste of money most of the US; the Sun isn't intense enough to justify the cost." Or that it takes 120 days to get a permit even if they don't have any work in their queue. Bitter? Oh yes I am. OTOH, the world changed during my career, and I helped, and I'm proud of that.

[@economistfromhell4877]

Your fellow Americans need to hear more from you! The situation is outrageous - and I am not an American!

[@dougharris4853]

Is it because the sunshine is more expensive in America

[@1xm_mx1]

Maybe they tax the sunshine there...

[@JustStopPlayingGames]

Our corporate electric utility company has a hearing in my town tomorrow because they will be raising utility rates while simultaneously scaling back green energy investments. I need this information for the hearing tomorrow.

[@97itachiuchiha]

How did it go?

[@bobbif100]

Also, many solar companies are taking massive profits. The range of quotes I got for the exact same size system, with the same parts ranged between $22k and $50k. Get at least 3 to 5 quotes to make sure you aren't being gouged.

[@aannddrroommaann]

It's 0.7 $ per watt in India before post installation subsidies and around 0.6 $ after that here in India. Everything from permits to installation to net metering setup happens in under a month. You get your subsidy in your bank account within 60 days after installation.

[@yan007e4]

in Turkey, on every roof, they use water heaters!

[@simolatham03]

UK is like Australia, for small systems there's no permit just a short form for the District Network Operator (DNO) and a much longer form for systems over 4Kw. Electricians do the install, testing and commission so your system goes live the second its signed off. No Government or specialist inspector gate keepers.

[@economistfromhell4877]

Thank you for explaining how it is to Americans. The only thing standing between Americans and the cheapest electricity in history is the US desire to have extraordinarily ridiculous bureaucracy and then do nothing but complain about it and have childish culture wars. Instead I think everyone can agree that effective regulatory processes are necessary but must be delivered in a sensible manner! C’mon America - get your public spaces organised efficiently. End the Reagan era small govt rubbish - that’s a distraction and wrong headed. It’s better government, not less government. Do I need to say ‘stupid’?

[@JorenMathews]

Better government is less government. You don't need lots of government for streamlined, efficient regulation.

[@garrettmillard525]

This deserves more views!

[@stephenbrickwood1602]

Horse and cart thinking meant horse meat was cheap when the Ford model T rolled of the production line. 😅😅😅

[@charmerci]

The large corporate interests want to keep control of the power, literally. American "independence". Yeah, right.

[@SaveMoneySavethePlanet]

One of the tools that we have in order to combat these high costs is Net Metering where solar owners get paid for excess electricity that they pump back into the grid. Unfortunately, lobbying by corporations is slowly chipping away at this like when California recently changed their net metering rules. The main reason pushed for these changes was so that solar owners would “pay their fair share,” but simply looking at the cost of operations from the electricity providers annual financial report shows that that means we should have lowered net metering by $0.07/KWh….instead it got lowered by $0.22/KWh! I’ll be releasing a video in august which goes over this in more detail.

[@garrettmillard525]

Your "math" is a hilarious oversimplification of grid dynamics. You are not just paying for physical grid infrastructure upkeep. You are paying for generating resources. You are able to draw power at any time and pay a fixed rate, despite the fact that electricity costs are much, much higher in the early morning and late afternoon - basically when solar output is lowest. 1:1 net metering is never going to be a sustainable solution. You seriously want to be paid retail rates for electricity that is virtually worthless at a wholesale level. The large share of solar generation means there is an oversupply of energy during midday, and yet you want to be paid retail rates for that electricity. Net metering is inherently flawed. Electricity is not a uniform commodity. It is all about time of use. Very unfortunate ignorance.

[@PeterTerren]

In Australia, I have 3.5kW of solar cells limited by a feeble feed in cables in a semi-rural setting. I also have a hot water solar system with direct water heating, but this is a least 25yo. There are very few of these being installed now. Rough guess is perhaps less than 1 in 20 homes have direct heating. Presumably solar cells are used for direct water heating. This might work with a 12kW system. We can feed power back to the grid but the benefit is miniscule. The benefit of solar cells to us in Australia is the power you don't have to draw from the grid. Not mentioned in the video was the cost of the inverter to convert the panel's 300V DC to 250VAC with phase in sync to send power back to the grid.

[@varno]

I mean it isn't mentioned, but it is included in the cost. The whole thing is now under 1usd per installed watt, or about 1.50 Australian. You have to include currency conversion in your head.

[@namouze1]

Amazing video Michael, great job. Very informative, and not boring at all!

[@abedshami1038]

Check out lebanon's case I think the increase the last couple of years in solar installations was more than 10000%

[@1xm_mx1]

Governments need to get out of the way of achieving the goals they set. There is so much bureaucracy in the way of progress for the US, it's mind-boggling how it manages to run a functioning government.

[@alexishart1989]

The reason we have so much solar here in Australia is simple. One day, we all got together and agreed that since we're so friggen backward here and that we suck so bad in so many ways that just in this one instance, we wouldn't suck so hard. So we kept exporting massive amounts of coal and increasing our CO2 emissions ever higher, while patting ourselves on the back for the whole solar thing. True story.

[@johnzach2057]

Please also do a video about heat pump installations. I am seeing insane number floating around. Like tens of thousands of USD for 36000 BTU installations. Here the same would cost like 1000 to 1500 euros. And I am talking about machines with SCOP of over 5.

[@justinmagagani8835]

In Africa, it costs under 60c per watt installed😂😂😂😂

[@MaiTai16]

Hi from Brisbane, I loved your heat pump video on Simon's Nebula channel!

[@distilled-earth]

Welcome! thanks for watching :)

[@passdasalt]

I got my panels in 2009. Best investment I ever made. I haven't had a power bill since and even get paid almost $2K a year for my excess. South Australia got this right.

[@Buggaton]

Here from your video on Simon's channel. It was great! New subscriber here :)

[@distilled-earth]

Welcome!

[@nssimpson]

Nice video. In terms of comparing prices, I'm not keen on "4 times less" or "7 times less". How about "a quarter" or "one seventh"?

[@flamingstag2381]

this comes as a shock to me ! all I have ever known for my 75yrs in australia is solar hot water its not a big deal in any way. many build their own units if you don't no problem. the gov helps you buy one. same deal with water tanks , insulation , hvac,s , etc , no permit B/S its all just normal to be normal !!!

[@waynecartwright-js8tw]

In the UK it is self certification up to 16A per phase for a solar install. You just supply information to your Distribution network operator.

[@Heimbasteln]

Here in Germany the approval process for solar is probably even worse than in the US, but people are getting fed up by this, so we see more and more illegal installations. I hope we will be able to lose some bureaucracy soon. So we have quite some solar, but not because of your regulations, but even with our regulations.

[@anon0105]

I think much of this information is true, but the situation in the US is not as bad as the video suggests, at least here in Southern California. Two years ago I installed a 5.6 kW system on my own roof for $7200 before tax credits, or about $1.30 per watt. After tax credits the system cost about $5300, or 95 cents a watt. I did all the work myself including permitting, acquiring the hardware and installing it. I'm just a homeowner with reasonable DIY skills, and I had no prior experience. The local city waived the permitting and inspection fee and gave me a permit within a couple of weeks, as did the local utility. The forms I had to fill out were a bit confusing, but manageable, and the city planning department and the utility were helpful in getting through it. The only significant soft cost I had to pay was $600 to a civil engineer to certify that my roof is strong enough to support the weight of the panels. If I had used a professional installer I'm sure that the total cost would have been much higher, but if you live where I do it is simply not true that the problem lies with government or utility bureaucracies. Both my local city planning department and Southern California Edison were helpful, quick and pleasant to work with. Permitting wasn't quite as easy as filling out a form on my cell phone, but it wasn't very difficult either, it didn't take long and it was free.

[@vincentchan4576]

I suspect some of the confusion might be whether the installer was talking in Australian Dollars or US Dollars (or weirdly a mix of both when doing the comparison). Based on my understanding of the cost of solar in Australia, the "$1 per watt" measure is correct if he was talking Australian dollars, with a reasonable-quality system costing roughly that much. If he was talking in US dollars, that would make it roughly $AU1.56 per watt with today's exchange rate, which most people here would consider overpriced (unless you had a complicated install). Assuming that he's not talking Australian dollars for the AU example and then US dollars for the US example (which would pretty much be comparing apples and oranges), that means that the $2.5-3/watt figure quoted is roughly $US1.60-1.90 per watt in the US. Still more expensive than the figures you quoted, but not by that much (and probably about right considering that your cost was lower because you did the permitting, hardware acquisition and installation).

[@jamestucker8088]

The current rate for solar where I live in Southern California is $5-6/watt. So we are talking about $25,000 for a 5kw system. So why does it cost over $15,000 in labor just to install a system in the US? Maybe its insurance?

[@incognitotorpedo42]

@@jamestucker8088 No, you're just getting reamed.

[@kasmstamps1897]

Oz example. Moved into our new home late 2023. Last week sought a 2nd quote for 10kw system. $9kAUD. Last Friday got permit. Hoping to find on Monday when the installation will scheduled. End next week 🤞? One drawback thou is new installations have an export limit of 5kwh and the max size is 13.2kw panels & 10kw inverter (for single phase supply). Our feed in tariff is about 6cents per kWh. Flat rates tariffs are around 45cents per kWh. Time of use tariffs are around 30cents per kWh. Our system could potentially produce 16000 kWh per year of which previously we have used about 2000 - about 2000 surplus to power an ev. Lucky country? I think so.

[@yeanswers]

Great video. So true.

[@timbushell8640]

So thank Simon... for a new sub.

[@nicklang7670]

Amazing video and information. Thank you! I wish there was more information on green energy in Canada. We are letting oil and gas companies walk all over us. edit: We have some of the lowest taxes on oil among developed countries and people complain of oil taxes all the time. Also there are commercials everywhere on the TV by oil and gas corporations (the largest carbon contributors) trying to get more of our tax dollars for carbon capture technology that is not helping anyone at the moment. They actually have a commercial on national TV all the time saying the oil sands (the largest mine in the world) is green!

[@skippymaster57]

Carbon Capture Technology is a scam perpetrated by greedy energy companies and politicians grifting from them. It has never been shown to work at scale.

[@albertiwong]

here in Ontario our energy mix is 56% nuclear, 23% hydro, 8% wind, 1% solar, the rest is gas. My cost of electricity is CAD$0.16/kwh at peak times. Even if we replace all ICE with EVs (passenger vehicles), we reduce CO2 by 20%. At the moment, there is no replacement for diesel, needed for the commercial transports, Mining machines , sea transport and jet fuel for flying, tires for EVs, asphalt for roads. chemicals for our modernity. One more thing, fertilizer to feed the world.

[@davidfrancis8899]

@@albertiwongswallowed the pill. The fact that you are uniquely blessed with some location centred natural renewable resources does not mean the rest of the world is. Stop using the sky as a free garbage dump.

[@incognitotorpedo42]

@@albertiwong Using oil for tires, asphalt, chemicals and fertilizer is not a problem. The problem comes from burning it. There actually is a replacement for liquid fuels: biomass can be converted to liquid fuel. This has already been successfully used in jet aircraft.

[@tysonjbest]

Plus there is a lot of greenies in Australia so its actually cool to your friends & partner;) if your a solar installer,plus the good pay. . . 🥰

[@economistfromhell4877]

Maaaate - it’s fucking cheap! It’s also good for the earth but it’s cheap and hence a no brainer!! Americans would love it if they get past the culture war bullshit and just do some arithmetic!! Meanwhile the planet burns for NO good reason…..humans are way more stupid than humans think!!

[@astro365]

Some jurisdictions in California are still taking about 8 weeks before they even get started on reviewing a permit. Any mistake and you're back at the end of the line going through the process again.

[@skippymaster57]

I have a 14.5KW 3 phase system on my 3Br 1 Bath home. My current Power bill is $0.02c and this is winter time in Australia now (ie clouds and rain time). I might decide to pay it even though it's currently overdue, I can't see the company suing me over it. It generated 36.59 kW/h today (max 6.34kW) - on a cloudy cold (18C) day. It did cost $AU13,000 for the install, but I have had it for over 3 years now and have saved the equivalent of 21.1tonne in CO2, 541 trees and driven 84,661km. ROI at that rate is very good So, I'm pretty happy with my investment👍👌

[@skippymaster57]

I get $0.04c/kW from the feed in to my power company

[@tslee8236]

​@@skippymaster57Which is less than 20% of what you have to pay from the power company.

[@incognitotorpedo42]

@@tslee8236 And that is entirely appropriate. When solar is producing, electricity is incredibly cheap. Unless they have giant batteries, they can't store it and use it later. Electricity is a commodity with extreme time value.

[@unpopularopinion9831]

My neighbor believed in solar for years and years and has always had panels since they became a thing, i asked him when he forst added it to his house, what about hail? Well, hes upgraded many, many times over the years, and always after a hail storm, lol. Then, this year he took it all down, wonder why? He couldnt get insurance on his house anymore, he had switched companies a few times after previous cancelations after storm loss. We live in KS BTW...

[@robertvesetas8751]

Hi from Sydney, saw your heat pump video on Simon's YT channel. I don't have a HP yet, using green electricity (utility wind) for heating and fans for cooling. Have insulated my roof, but HP looks like my next move.

[@distilled-earth]

Hi there! Welcome to the channel :)

[@hydrojedi]

The centralize utilities do not want people to have solar that would be lost revenue. Politicians are in the pockets of the centralize utilities and big oil. That's why there are tariffs on solar panels to make it more expensive for people to make the switch.

[@christopherhind8680]

Spain was charging taxes on solar panels 2021 ,

[@stephenbrickwood1602]

4 Ps, add POLITICS. 😊😊😊😊😊

[@aznku]

Love it

[@lukehanson5320]

7:55 Yes, I certainly can. 9-10 month NFA wait each and every time I buy a steel muffler with no moving parts. Most recent purchase was a 22 month wait. Fortunately we're allowed to cross state lines with them (I live 20 miles from my neighboring state) but I'd better have my 'papers' with the item at all times or else it's straight to jail for me. We certainly need a better process for solar here in the US but don't pretend this is the only consumer product with massive bureaucratic headaches.

[@incognitotorpedo42]

A muffler? I buy them from rockauto and get them delivered to my door in a few days. What kind of Soviet state do you live in?

[@lukehanson5320]

@@incognitotorpedo42 An NFA muffler...a gun silencer. Good 'ol USA.

I came here from Simon Clark's channel 😁 Can you do a video on the meat industry lobby and how a transition to plant based foods is essential to combat climate change as stated by the IPCC? Thank you!

[@distilled-earth]

Hi and welcome! I did a newsletter article on the topic, but will consider a video too - www.distilled.earth/p/how-meat-and-fossil-fuel-producers

@@distilled-earth That would be amazing! Thanks :) I read the article in the diagonal and will read it fully after the work day finishes but it would be very cool to see a video on that very important issue. Thank you so much for your work! 🙌

[@davidunwin7868]

I love my solar. I only pay electric bills in winter. Cant wait for an EV to soak up all that extra exported energy.

[@portalminer8813]

What do they do for electricity when the sun goes down?

[@zen1647]

We have wind, a bit of hydro, a bit of pumped hydro and grid battery storage plus old coal and gas. Coal and gas can't compete with cheap renewable energy with storage so their days are numbered.

[@stephenbrickwood1602]

Nobody talks about the poles and wires except the nuclear promoters who talk about the cost of transmission from Renewables whilst wanting to fill the existing grid with their government Garrenteed but privately owned nuclear generators. They are half talking. 😮😮😮😮😮

[@nihao2603]

£0.45... so what $0.57 per kwh So Europe must have some heavenly low rates for that average to be so far off.

[@banksiasong]

It's about progressive governments. While the Australian federal government was conservative, many states had progressive governments which gave rebates, and the cost/benefit ratio was worth the purchase, as well as reducing carbon emissions. Look at US states with higher solar, they will have progressive legislators.

[@stephenbrickwood1602]

1million klm of national grid at $2million per klm and 5 times more capacity is $$$$$ 10,000 billion. It is critical to UNLOAD the national power grid. Central concentrated electrical power generation is horse and cart thinking. The millions of ends of the existing national grid can now generate and store 3 or 4 times more electricity. Australia has 20million buildings and 20million vehicles. When EVs and community batteries and rooftop solar are universal the existing national electric grid will be UNLOADED and protected and perfect for daily balancing local storage needs. 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊 Saul Griffith's calculations show profits from coal exports equal petroleum import costs. Neither is needed for energy in the future.

[@altGoolam]

US Americans hated Jimmy Carter 😂

[@MaiTai16]

They elected him, so no, not really. Tirelessly working for peace and building homes for the poor into his 90s has also quite endeared him to a lot of people since he's been out of office.

[@maunaowakea777]

4 P's (profit)

[@Thehighschoolscientistforever]

Um in India it's 50 cents per watt in China it's 43 cents (soo idk how this video came up)

[@JorenMathews]

Because Australia is more of an apples to apples comparison. Yes, doing things is cheaper in places where labor is dirt cheap.

[@kq1965]

just look at healthcare costs in the US u know how broken their system is

[@theartxo]

America is a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. USA and just a part of that landmass btw.

[@LcHR21212]

Hi from simon

[@distilled-earth]

hi and welcome!

[@MoosesValley]

I love my solar system. In Australia, I have 13.2 kW of solar panels (30 year warranty) on my roof and a 10 kW grid tied inverter (10 year warranty), installed in Jul-2023, at a total cost of $10,455 AUD (after approx $5,840 AUD in government incentives, called STCs). I was tricked by my installer, who said I could export 10 kW to the grid where I am. The true limit turned out to be 5 kW, which I found out as my system went live. So my 10 kW inverter cam only export a maximum of 5 kW to the grid. This was my 3rd solar panel installation, each at a different property. I pay $0.30 AUD per kWh for electricity from the grid, and export (sell) electricity back to the grid at $0.13 AUD per kWh. My power bill was about $60-70 AUD per month. Since installation, my power bills have turned into credits, and I now get free electricity and make around $110 AUD per month tax free on the excess electricity I export to the grid - a whopping 25% Return on Investment (ROI). It's like having a piggy bank on my roof. Living in / near the tropics helps. I can get the CREDIT transferred to my bank account whenever I like. My entire system will pay for itself in 4 years. Highly recommend others do this if they can (if you live in a sunny area with suitably facing roof). There are lots of scams and scammers out there. Use a reputable, quality installer, and always do your research first. Be extra wary of super cheap deals advertised on TV, internet, social media, etc. I am now looking at adding some really big batteries to make use of my excess solar capacity and then export to the grid overnight ... just waiting for prices to come down and capacities to rise. Am even considering using pumped hydro storage (using 2 spare 5,000 gallon water tanks for starters) to my system. My aim is to try and export 5 kW to the grid 18+ hours a day. Am also planting / growing 100 acres of trees on what was virtually a desert (an old, run-down pineapple farm), and encouraging native plants and wildlife to return. Repairing what I can. Recycling everything else possible. Quietly doing way more than my share to save the planet / environment all on my own with zero help or support from anyone.

[@Bernie5172]

wrong. we have very expensive solar power here

[@stephenbrickwood1602]

The key to understanding is, 5 times more electricity will be needed. Re:Allan Fels, the Australian government adviser. Transmission from central generation is the killer cost. The national grid is fragile, just off broke. 100years to build and massive national wealth. 5 national grids is stupendously stupid economically, resources and fossil fueled mining. Decades and decades and decades. EV big batteries and rooftop solar PV and the existing national grid is almost free. 100kWh storage + 6.6kW rooftop. Central Electricity generation is stupid. Fossil fueled Nuclear fission Nuclear fusion Renewables solar farms Renewable wind farms The centralised generation models are all stupid because of transmission costs and decades and decades to construct increased transmission increased capacity. In my street we have 30 homes and 60+ vehicles and gas supply to the homes. When no petroleum EVs, and no gas supplied for heating and cooking and hotwater then it is obvious the poles and wires in the street are way too small for distant central supply. 😮😮😮😮😮

[@Detonator007]

That’s because FPL is I. The governors back pocket, FU Desantas

[@gazza272]

300% more = 4x. You might want to change the thumbnail to say 200%.

[@gasdive]

I don't know the numbers for the USA, but the numbers for Australia are too high. My son just put on a 14 kw system for 6000 dollars, which is about 4000 USD. That's about 1/3rd of the price they were using of a dollar per watt.

[@keithd5181]

No. It is ALUMINIUM.

[@stephenbrickwood1602]

Also, forget home batteries. EV big batteries and rooftop solar PV and the existing national grid are almost free. 100kWh storage + 6.6kW rooftop. V2G, vehicle to grid electric vehicles are coming. Vehicles are parked 23hrs every day. EV comes with a big 100Kwh battery, and it is free with the vehicle. Hahaha, Hahaha, Hahaha 😆 Selfparking EVs will plug themselves into the grid like the home robotic vacuum cleaner and daytrade electricity for money. Rapid charging will be on the main roads and at corner stores. EV fueled every day, topped up. 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊

[@zen1647]

Yeah, V2G can't come soon enough IMHO. People will love it when their car earns them money!

[@stephenbrickwood1602]

@@zen1647 Australia has 20 million vehicles. 1 million new annually. If Tesla built a factory in Australia and made 1 million EVs every year, he would be busy for 20 years. Hahaha Hahaha He could run it on solar PV and big batteries. Australian lithium into Australian batteries.

[@davidbelanger2681]

Good sun...and proximity to China where they are manufactured.

[@alexandrep4913]

This is by far a false statement as one could get. The cheapest country on earth for solar panels is the place where they make everyones solar, including Australia; China

[@massoud999]

👏🖖Cool

[@CHUNKYNUGGET666]

1/3 of our homes are powered by the sun😂 no way, dude this is not true at all. It wouldn’t be 1% of our homes powered by the sun.. partly powered and many failing systems, many dodgy systems.. yes that’s true!

[@drewlarson65]

Solar is a waste of money most of the US; the Sun isn't intense enough to justify the cost.

[@willrehm]

Source?

[@nathanlewisforcongress120]

False. Not as good a deal as Australia, but most people save some.

[@MaiTai16]

The book The Grid by Gretchen Bakke goes into fascinating detail about how much renewable power rooftop solar actually produces. In Hawaii at least the power companies stopped allowing new rooftop solar installers from participating in the market because there was an oversupply of electricity.