2,069 solar installations registered with the Clean Energy Regulator · ranked top 50% in Queensland · data current as at 2026-08-15
Based on last week's Queensland grid mix (avg 810 gCO₂/kWh), Cairns's 2,069 solar systems typically avoid around 12.82 tonnes of CO₂ every hour during peak generation.
Grid intensity data: Open Electricity (openelectricity.org.au) · 7-day average · updates monthly
Cairns ranks 169th in Queensland for solar installations — in the middle tier of 449 postcodes tracked by the Clean Energy Regulator across the state. 150 new systems were installed in the past 12 months, a 13% increase on the previous year — steady growth consistent with continued community uptake.
The combined impact is substantial: Cairns's solar community avoids an estimated 20,480 tonnes of CO₂ every year — equivalent to taking 9,752 cars off the road or powering around 4,096 average Australian homes with clean electricity. This is estimated using Queensland's average grid emissions intensity of 810 gCO₂/kWh, sourced from OpenElectricity, applied to an average system size of 9kW.