Up to half of the nation’s roofing area is suited to solar panels but is currently unused, with industrial suburbs accounting for most of this spare capacity.

According to new University of NSW (UNSW) research, 40 per cent of Sydney’s rooftops are capable of producing the output of a medium-sized coal-fired power station – or the equivalent of 22 per cent of the Sydney CBD’s energy usage.

Currently, solar panels only account for around one per cent of the city’s roof space.

The modelling shows that 38 per cent of Melbourne’s roofing is solar suitable, which if fully deployed would produce 12 per cent of the city’s electricity needs.