5,434 solar installations registered with the Clean Energy Regulator · ranked top 10% in New South Wales · data current as at 2026-05-15
Based on last week's New South Wales grid mix (avg 790 gCO₂/kWh), Shellharbour's 5,434 solar systems typically avoid around 32.84 tonnes of CO₂ every hour during peak generation.
Grid intensity data: Open Electricity (openelectricity.org.au) · 7-day average · updates monthly
Shellharbour is one of New South Wales's strongest solar communities, ranking 51st in the state — ahead of 93% of all New South Wales postcodes tracked by the Clean Energy Regulator. 425 new systems were added in the past 12 months, with growth of 1% on the previous year — typical of a maturing market where most interested households have already installed.
The combined impact is substantial: Shellharbour's solar community avoids an estimated 52,460 tonnes of CO₂ every year — equivalent to taking 24,981 cars off the road or powering around 10,492 average Australian homes with clean electricity. This is estimated using New South Wales's average grid emissions intensity of 790 gCO₂/kWh, sourced from OpenElectricity, applied to an average system size of 9kW.