The sharply rising levels of rooftop and grid-level solar power will force difficult discussions as Australia reaches a solar peak, energy chiefs say.

Australia has been installing around 100 megawatts of new solar power every month in 2018 and there are predictions that the country could become the first country in the world where the grid cannot handle the excess level of distributed electricity generated. That would mean the power generated would be wasted as it could not be transported to where it could be used.

Australia is expected to be the first country in the world to hit a solar peak. Credit:Peter Rae

“It’s feast or famine with renewables, they’re all turned on or all turned off at the same time,” EnergyAustralia director Mark Collette told Fairfax Media.

“We’ll be one of the first countries in the world to hit that solar peak. We’re going to see it way before anyone else does. We’ll hit a point where there is no point in putting any more solar power into the system without something changing.