Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity by using photovoltaics.

Solar energy is created by the heat and light of the sun. Australia has the highest average solar radiation per square metre of any continent in the world. More than two million Australian households have a solar system on the rooftop.

The cost of producing and installing solar power systems has fallen dramatically over recent years, and continues to fall. The solar panels installed on rooftops today are more than 500 times cheaper to produce than the first solar cells of the mid-1950s and costs are still coming down fast. Four years ago a solar system could cost as much as a small car. Now it costs about the same as a big TV.