In urban SEQ your export is now worth roughly a one-cent per kWh—about one-thirtieth of the 32-34 ¢/kWh you pay to buy power from your retailer.

3. Why are retailers paying so little?

1. Day-time power is cheap. Solar panels across the state flood the grid during peak sun hours, sometimes pushing wholesale prices below zero.
2. Regulators have noticed. The regional FiT fell by 30 % this year because the “value of solar exports during the day” dropped.
3. Retail margins are tight. Price caps on standard plans limit how much retailers can subsidise higher FiTs.
4. Policy is moving to storage. New federal schemes reward dispatchable capacity—think batteries and virtual power plants—rather than plain daytime exports.

4. What does that mean for your solar system?

• Exporting is now pocket-money. A typical 6.6 kW array that once earned ~$350 a year from exports might now earn less than $70 at 1 ¢/kWh.
• Self-consumption is king. Every kWh you can use on-site saves you the full retail rate, not a token FiT.
• Batteries finally add up. A 10 kWh home battery costs between $10 000 and $18 000 installed before incentives. The new federal 30 % rebate trims that by up to ~$5 000. Shift just 4 kWh per day from the grid to your own stored solar and you can save roughly $450 a year—cutting pay-back to around five to seven years for many households. A professional solar battery installation will also prepare you for future virtual-power-plant earnings.
• Thinking about a battery? Jump onto our Solar battery rebate calculator to see how the numbers play out for your house.

5. Five practical moves to stay ahead

1. Run big appliances while the sun shines. Think dishwasher, washing-machine, pool pump, hot-water heat-pump, even EV charging.
2. Check your plan fine-print. Some “premium” FiTs now have tiny daily export caps; once you hit them, you drop to the 1 ¢ baseline.
3. Keep your system performing. Panels get dusty, inverters throw error codes and cables degrade. If you notice a dip in output, book solar repairs Brisbane or schedule regular solar panel maintenance Redlands to keep everything humming.
4. Consider a battery or installing a  hot-water timer. With the rebate in play and low FiTs, storing or redirecting your own solar is usually smarter than exporting it.
5. Shop around once a year. Usage rates, daily supply charges and demand tariffs matter more than ever when FiTs are tiny. Whether you’re planning a brand-new solar installation in Redlands and Brisbane or just reviewing your electricity contract, comparing offers is worth the effort.

6. The Big picture

Low FiTs aren’t a sign that rooftop solar is failing—they’re proof it’s working almost too well during daylight hours. The next frontier is soaking up your own sunshine: time-shifting demand, adding storage and installing new energy efficient market products. Households that make these changes will keep their bills low and their carbon footprints tiny, even as the rules keep evolving.

Need a hand?

Want a personalised game-plan for beating low feed-in tariffs? Let us crunch your numbers, show you real savings with self-use and storage, and map out the next steps for your home.