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Solar panels in Cairns

Cairns is the wet tropics: strong sun for most of the year, a wet season that brings months of cloud and rain, and a cyclone region that sets the rules for anything bolted to a roof. Air conditioning runs for much of the year, which is why solar pays here and why a battery has more to do than in the south. The Clean Energy Regulator's postcode data on this page covers Cairns and its suburbs, the northern beaches, Smithfield and the Tablelands road, and Edmonton and Gordonvale to the south.

Clean Energy Regulator small-scale installation data across 12 postcodes in Far North Queensland, to October 2026. Averages include some business systems.

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Where the installs are going

The southern corridor at Edmonton, Bentley Park and Gordonvale has been the growth area, with Smithfield, Trinity Park and the northern beaches close behind. The older suburbs of Manunda, Westcourt and Mooroobool install steadily on the high-set and ground-level homes that make up most of the city.

Roofs and homes in Cairns

Cyclone rating is not optional in Cairns. Every panel, rail and fixing has to be certified for the region, and a local installer will show you the engineering without being asked. Most roofs are corrugated iron or Colorbond, which is ideal. The wet season is the design consideration people forget: from December to April the sky is often overcast for days, so a system sized only on the dry-season average will under-deliver when the air conditioning is working hardest. Salt applies to the beaches and humidity is hard on inverters, so a ventilated, sheltered spot for the inverter matters.

Brick house with solar panels on its roof, on a suburban street

The network: Ergon Energy

Ergon Energy runs the network across regional Queensland. Single-phase homes are usually limited to a 5 kW export, three-phase homes can go larger, and bigger systems go through a connection application; Ergon has been more conservative than the southern distributors about exports in some areas, so ask about your street before you size a big system. Queensland feed-in tariffs are set by the retailers, and using your own power beats exporting it.

Suburban street with power poles and overhead lines at sunset

What a system generates in Cairns

Cairns averages 5.3 peak sun hours a day and sits in STC Zone 3. A peak sun hour is an hour of sunlight at full strength, so the figure is what a panel collects once the weaker morning and evening light is added up. On that average, this is what the two most common system sizes produce on a north-facing roof with no shade.

Average daily and yearly solar generation in Cairns
SystemAverage dayYear
6.6 kW29.7 kWh10,853 kWh
10 kW45.1 kWh16,443 kWh

Worked as system size times 5.3 peak sun hours times 85%, the allowance our suburb pages make for inverter, heat and wiring losses, over 365 average days. Summer days produce well above the average and winter days well below it, and an east or west-facing array produces less than a north-facing one.

Across the eight capitals, the same 6.6 kW system makes from about 7,576 kWh a year in Hobart to about 11,262 kWh in Darwin. In Cairns it makes about 6% more than it would in Brisbane. More sun means more output from the same panels, but it does not change the STC rebate within a zone: that is set by the zone, the system size and the year you install.

Rebates and feed-in tariffs in Cairns

Federal
Up to $8,000+ in solar and battery rebates in STC Zone 3. See how we calculate this.
Queensland
no state add-on.
Feed-in tariff
The best single-rate plan we can find in Queensland pays 12.0c per kWh (Origin Energy). Compare QLD feed-in tariffs.

How much solar panels cost in Cairns

These are the installed prices our solar panel cost guide works on, with the federal STC rebate for Cairns taken off. The rebate comes off the quote at the point of sale, so the last column is what you actually pay. In STC Zone 3 it is worth $1,710 on a 6.6 kW system and $2,622 on a 10 kW one.

  • 5 kW

    Installed price
    $4,500 to $6,500
    STC rebate, Zone 3
    $1,292
    You pay after the STC
    $3,208 to $5,208

  • 6.6 kW

    Installed price
    $5,500 to $8,000
    STC rebate, Zone 3
    $1,710
    You pay after the STC
    $3,790 to $6,290

  • 10 kW

    Installed price
    $8,000 to $12,000
    STC rebate, Zone 3
    $2,622
    You pay after the STC
    $5,378 to $9,378

  • 13 kW

    Installed price
    $10,000 to $15,000
    STC rebate, Zone 3
    $3,382
    You pay after the STC
    $6,618 to $11,618

Prices are the national ranges from our solar panel cost guide. Installed prices are before any rebate. The STC rebate is the certificates each system creates in Zone 3 over the 2026 deeming period of 5 years, at $38 a certificate. The deeming period shortens by a year every 1 January, so the same system earns less rebate each year you wait.

The average system installed across Cairns in the 12 months to October 2026 was 12.1 kW, between the 10 kW and 13 kW rows, although that average includes some business systems. Size yours on your own bills and roof, but it is a fair check on what your neighbours are putting up.

What moves a quote up or down: the panel and inverter brands, a second storey or a steep or tiled roof, and switchboard or meter work. The full breakdown is in our solar panel cost guide.

Payback in Cairns

Payback is the after-rebate price divided by what the system saves each year. The saving comes from two places: the power you use yourself, which you no longer buy at around 30.0c per kWh, and the power you export, which earns the feed-in tariff.

  • 6.6 kW

    Yearly generation
    10,853 kWh
    Yearly saving
    $1,888
    You pay after the STC
    $3,790 to $6,290
    Simple payback
    2 to 3.3 years

  • 10 kW

    Yearly generation
    16,443 kWh
    Yearly saving
    $2,861
    You pay after the STC
    $5,378 to $9,378
    Simple payback
    1.9 to 3.3 years

Assumes 30% of the solar is used in the home at 30.0c per kWh, the average residential usage rate we hold for Queensland, and the other 70% is exported at 12.0c per kWh, the best single-rate feed-in tariff we can find in Queensland (Origin Energy). That 30% is the share our suburb pages and calculators assume for a household out at work during the day. No battery, no price rises and no panel ageing are counted.

Using more of it yourself improves the numbers quickly, because a kWh used at home is worth 30.0c and an exported one 12.0c. At 50% self-consumption, which a household home through the day or one that runs the pool pump, dishwasher and hot water on a timer can reach, the 6.6 kW system saves about $2,279 a year in Cairns and pays back in 1.7 to 2.8 years.

Your rebate in Cairns

Up to $8,000+ in solar and battery rebates. One Why Solar Approved installer, one free written quote, and fifteen minutes with a solar expert before you sign.

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Batteries in Cairns

The federal Cheaper Home Batteries rebate applies in Cairns as it does everywhere. It is paid on usable capacity, at $258/kWh for the first 14 kWh and at lower rates above that, and like the STC rebate it comes off the price at the point of sale. It steps down on 1 January 2027, when the full rate falls to $217/kWh.

Battery rebates in Cairns
Battery (usable)Federal rebate
10 kWh$2,584
14 kWh$3,610

The table is the federal rebate only: there is no QLD battery rebate that a typical household can count on.

Queensland: no state add-on.

Whether a battery pays in Cairns comes down to the gap between what you pay for power and what you are paid for exporting it. Each kWh a battery moves from export into your evening is worth about 18.0c (30.0c less 12.0c). A 10 kWh battery that filled and emptied every day would be worth up to $657 a year on that gap alone; most do less in winter, when there is less surplus to store.

Battery prices by size, before and after the federal rebate, are in our battery cost guide, and the QLD battery rebate page has the state detail.

Installers in Cairns

We have not published an installer guide for Cairns yet. Our national installer directory lists SAA-accredited installers with customer reviews.

When you check your rebate with us, you are matched with one Why Solar Approved installer in Cairns. An installer has passed all six of our checks: credentials, staying power, proof of work, who actually turns up to do the job, what goes in, and how they handle trouble. They earn it before they see a single homeowner, and they lose it if they let one down. The installer never cold-calls you; the one call is from a solar expert, fifteen minutes before you sign.

Installer in hi-vis and a safety harness fitting solar panels to a tin roof

What's actually happening on roofs near you

Cairns is 12 postcodes. Check yours, or any other.

What Cairns homeowners ask us

Cairns homeowners ask about cyclones and about the wet, and both come down to choosing an installer who has worked through a Far North year rather than one who flew in for the dry. They ask about warranties, because several national installers that sold heavily in the north no longer exist and the distance from manufacturers' service networks makes an Australian support office matter. Ask for both warranties in writing, check the company against our list, and ask for local references you can call. Cyclone-rated mounting is not optional here, so ask which wind region the system is engineered for and get that in writing as well.

Questions people ask

How many homes in Cairns installed solar in the last 12 months?
2,729 small-scale solar systems were installed across Cairns's 12 postcodes in the 12 months to October 2026, averaging 12.1 kW. The figures are the Clean Energy Regulator's postcode data, not estimates.
What solar rebates apply in Cairns?
Up to $8,000+ in solar and battery rebates apply in Cairns, calculated from STC Zone 3 and the federal battery rebate. Queensland: no state add-on.
What is the best feed-in tariff in Cairns?
The best single-rate feed-in tariff we can find in Queensland is 12.0c per kWh with Origin Energy. Rates change often; compare plans once your system is in.
How much does it cost to install solar panels in Cairns?
A 6.6 kW system in Cairns costs about $5,500 to $8,000 installed. The federal STC rebate in Zone 3 takes $1,710 off, so you pay about $3,790 to $6,290. A 10 kW system is $8,000 to $12,000 before the rebate and $5,378 to $9,378 after it. Prices move with the panels, the inverter, the roof and any switchboard work.
Is it worth getting solar in Cairns?
For most owner-occupiers with a roof that gets sun, yes. A 6.6 kW system in Cairns makes about 10,853 kWh a year from 5.3 peak sun hours a day. Using 30% of that at home and exporting the rest saves about $1,888 a year at today's rates, which pays back the after-rebate price in 2 to 3.3 years. It pays back faster if you use more of the power during the day, and more slowly on a shaded roof or a small bill.
Who is the best solar installer in Cairns?
There is no single best installer for every home. Look for SAA accreditation, a written workmanship warranty and a company that has traded under the same ABN for years; our national installer directory lists accredited installers with reviews. If you check your rebate with us, you are matched with one Why Solar Approved installer in Cairns who has passed all six of our checks.
What is the 20% rule for solar?
It is the rule of thumb that the panels should be rated 20 to 33 per cent above the inverter, such as 6.6 kW of panels on a 5 kW inverter. Panels rarely produce their full rating, so a slightly larger array keeps the inverter working near its capacity for more of the day. The Clean Energy Council's design guidelines, which the STC rules follow, allow panels up to a third larger than the inverter. That is why 6.6 kW is the standard size on a 5 kW inverter, and why 13.3 kW is the largest array on a 10 kW single-phase inverter.

Suburbs in the Cairns figures

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Up to $8,000+ in solar and battery rebates · Federal rebates step down in 80 daysSee how we calculate this