NSW Solar Feed-in Tariffs 2026: Why They've Fallen

If you installed solar in NSW a few years ago expecting a generous payment for every kilowatt-hour you exported, 2026 has probably been a disappointment. Feed-in tariffs — the credit your retailer pays for surplus solar sent to the grid — have been trending down for years, and they are now a small bonus rather than the foundation of a solar business case. This guide explains the numbers that apply right now, why they've fallen, and where the value in your solar system has actually moved.

What NSW feed-in tariffs look like in 2026

In NSW, feed-in tariffs are set by retailers, not the government. To guide the market, the pricing regulator IPART publishes a voluntary benchmark each year. For 2026-27 that benchmark range is 3.4 to 6.5 cents per kilowatt-hour. Retailers can pay above or below it, but most offers now cluster inside that band.

To put that in perspective: a kilowatt-hour you export earns you somewhere around 3.4 to 6.5 cents, while the same kilowatt-hour you buy back from the grid in the evening typically costs five to ten times more. That gap is the single most important fact for any NSW solar owner today.

Why have they fallen so far?

The decline isn't retailers being stingy — it reflects what solar exports are actually worth to the grid now.

The middle of the day is flooded with solar. So much rooftop and large-scale solar now generates between roughly 10am and 3pm that wholesale electricity prices in that window are very low — sometimes near zero or negative. A feed-in tariff tracks that wholesale value, so it has fallen with it.
The value has shifted to the evening. Demand and prices peak after the sun goes down. Energy exported at midday simply isn't worth much when the system is awash with it.
This is a long-term trend, not a one-off. As more solar connects each year, midday exports keep getting less valuable. Expecting feed-in tariffs to climb back to the levels of the early 2020s isn't realistic.

Why self-consumption now beats export

Here's the mental shift that matters. Every kilowatt-hour of solar you use yourself is a kilowatt-hour you don't have to buy from the grid — so it's worth the full retail price you avoid, not the few cents of a feed-in tariff.

On the IPART 2026-27 benchmark, exporting a kilowatt-hour earns you 3.4 to 6.5 cents. Using that same kilowatt-hour yourself typically saves you the full retail rate, which is far higher. Self-consumption can be worth several times more than export — so the goal is no longer "export as much as possible", it's "use as much of your own solar as possible".

Practical ways to lift self-consumption:

Run heavy loads — dishwasher, washing machine, pool pump — during daylight hours.
Heat water with a timer or heat-pump system set to run midday, storing cheap solar heat for the evening.
Pre-cool or pre-heat the home while the sun is up if you're on a time-of-use plan (peak is typically around 2–8pm).
Consider whether the free midday Solar Sharer window (11am–2pm, up to 24 kWh/day, offered via participating retailers on eligible plans with a smart meter, live from 1 July 2026) fits how you use power.

The honest catch: this is also where batteries get pitched hard. A battery stores midday solar for the evening, lifting self-consumption — and NSW does offer a VPP-connection incentive (BESS2, worth roughly $500–$1,100 net after fees) that stacks with the federal Cheaper Home Batteries program. But a battery is a large upfront cost, and if your evening usage is modest or your bills are already low, the maths may not work. A low feed-in tariff is not, on its own, a reason to buy a battery. Run the numbers for your household before anyone sells you hardware.

What this means when you're choosing a retailer

Because feed-in tariffs are now so small, a headline "high" feed-in rate can be a distraction. Some plans advertise a bigger feed-in credit but charge more for the power you buy — and since you buy far more than you export, that's usually a worse deal overall. When comparing plans:

Weigh the usage rates (what you pay for grid power) more heavily than the feed-in rate.
Check whether any high feed-in tariff is capped at a certain number of kilowatt-hours per day.
Look at the daily supply charge and whether the plan is flat or time-of-use.
Treat the feed-in credit as the small bonus it is — not the deciding factor.

The feed-in figures above are the IPART 2026-27 benchmark; individual retailer offers change regularly, so confirm the current rate on any plan before you commit.

We don't sell solar, batteries, or electricity plans, and we don't earn a cent on what you install or sign up to. That's the whole point: when we tell you a battery probably won't pay for your household, or that chasing a high feed-in tariff is costing you on usage rates, it's engineered advice for a fixed fee — not a pitch dressed up as help.

Want to know what actually pays for your place?

Get an independent, engineered read on your whole bill — solar, battery, tariff and the rebates you're really entitled to — for a small fixed fee. No system to sell, no sales call.

Start your audit — $100

Figures in this guide are current at the date of publication and indicative only — rebate and certificate values change over time (federal battery certificates step down each January and July), and state schemes are amended often. Confirm the current numbers for your situation before you commit. This is general information, not personal financial advice.