What is a Solar Garden?

As the name suggests, a solar garden is similar to a community garden - except instead of sharing responsibility for a patch of land producing veggies, people can share ownership of solar panels producing electricity.

A solar garden has an existing or purpose built solar asset, which can be located anywhere there is the space and connection to the electricity grid. Anyone can purchase or lease solar garden 'plots' in order to receive credits on their electricity bills for the power generated by their plot. This allows households who may not be able to install solar panels on their own property to still benefit from the use of solar energy.

What does it mean to set up a Solar Garden?

Community solar gardens typically have a central location, such as a rooftop or a field, where the solar panels are installed and connected to the grid. The electricity generated by the solar panels is fed into the grid and distributed to the community members who have purchased or leased the panels.

Setting up a solar garden involves:

• Developing a large solar project or negotiating to purchase from an existing project.

• Designing the business model that determines how the benefits are shared amongst stakeholders.

• Finding solar garden 'plot owners' to be part of the solar garden.

• Organising the legal agreements for community members to purchase or lease solar garden plots.

• Identifying one or more electricity retailers who will agree to receive the solar energy and pass the benefits on to the community members via credits on their electricity bills.

Benefits of setting up a solar garden

• A solar garden provides access to solar energy and allows all community members to benefit from solar, regardless of their living situation. This can include renters, apartment dwellers and other households where rooftop solar is not possible to install.

• Solar gardens may provide cost savings (depending on the business model): those who purchase or lease solar panels in a community solar garden can receive credits on their electricity bills for the power generated by their panels.

• Community solar gardens help to promote the use of renewable energy and reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

• Community solar gardens often involve active participation from community members, which can help to build a sense of community engagement and ownership.

Some challenges of setting up a solar garden

• Capital costs: High upfront costs of a solar farm will require some strong investors, supportive financial institution or additional government funding.

• Savings lower than expected: The savings and return on electricity bills will be smaller than for households who can put solar directly on their roof.

• No operating model in Australia yet: Solar garden models are highly complex both in terms of the technical and financial set up, as well as the governance and social requirements. As of May 2023, there is only one solar garden in NSW under construction, Haystacks, hence there is limited experience and knowledge available.

The diagram below shows one possible financial model for solar gardens.

When is setting up a solar garden a good choice?

• You have a well-established organisation to lead the project
• Significant financial resources are available for the project set-up phase
• An appropriate site has been located
• A renewable developer is interested to partner in the project

Project examples for solar gardens

Haystacks Solar Garden will build a 1.5MW solar farm at Grong Grong in NSW and allow hundreds of people locked out of rooftop solar to access the benefits.

Other guides and resources

• Social Access Solar Gardens was the original research in Australia and helped the Haystacks project get financial support from the NSW Government. The final project report can be accessed here.

• Legal summary of Solar Gardens Report outlining the legal aspects of Solar Gardens in Australia

• Template for a Expression of Interest A sample expression of interest form for a community energy group to use with retailers. It is for a solar garden, but could provide a starting point for other types of project.

• Steps for establishment of a Co-op in NSW Guide to establishing a co-operative.

• Disclosure statement for a Co-op A sample disclosure statement for setting up a co-operative.

• Principles for a retailer agreement for a Solar Garden Outline principles for a Solar Garden to add to a retailer agreement

Our explainers on solar options helps you compare understand which solar project would work best in your community. Setting up a large-scale solar system and setting up community solar on a large roof are both closely related to creating a solar garden.