Solar panels cut one Camberwell school's power bill by 25 percent. Parents want that for every school in Australia.

A national push to install solar on every state school roof would save each campus $20,000-$30,000, as one Camberwell school has already seen a quarter of its bill slashed thanks to the sun’s power.

❓ What’s happening? Representatives of advocacy group Parents for Climate descended on Canberra this week to push for a national program that would see solar panels installed on the roof of every public school and childcare centre.

• More than 25 parents and 16 children from across Australia met with over 25 MPs and senators on Wednesday to support the push.

• The movement is supported by the Parliamentary Friends of Climate Action, a non-partisan forum for MPs – including New South Wales’ Independents Zali Steggall and Nicolette Boele, as well as Labor’s Jerome Laxale and – to discuss how to drive Australia’s efforts towards climate emission reduction and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

💰 How would this work? Parents for Climate is pushing for a nationally-based solution that would allow more funding to flow from federal coffers towards the state government – similar to the Cheaper Home Batteries Program. The initial funding goal is at least $1 billion to deliver solar infrastructure to Australian schools.

⌚ The right time: Climate Energy Finance founder and director Tim Buckley said installing solar at all schools was a “massive opportunity” towards decarbonising the grid as installations would only take as long as two weeks.

• 🗣️“It takes you five years to build a wind farm, it takes you two years to build a utility-scale solar farm and it takes you five or 10 years to build a coal fired power plant,” Buckley told the Eastern Melburnian.

• According to Buckley, schools could save between $20,000 and $30,000 each year on their electricity bills if they install 100-kilowatt-plus solar systems – and that’s before batteries or EV chargers.

• Buckley is a former Director of Energy Finance Studies at the nonprofit Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.

🗓️Years of savings: Camberwell Grammar School sustainability project co-ordinator Jo Menzies said the system had seen an average reduction of 25 percent on its annual energy costs compared to 2017, with more than 885,000 kilowatt-hours produced in 2025 alone.

• 🗣️ “Weekend and school holiday-generated electricity from the solar systems is exported back into the grid,” Menzies told the Eastern Melburnian. 

✍️ Public processes: With support from the State Government’s Greener Government School Buildings Program, Camberwell Primary School – a seven-minute drive down the road from Camberwell Grammar – installed a 29.6 kilowatt-hour system in 2021, with plans it would cut their bills by $6,500 annually.

• The program fully funds installation at government schools, with schools required to pay the cost back over five years while retaining half the savings.

• 🗣️“It’s not about coercion…but providing carrots and encouragement,” said Buckley. “The cost of not doing it is extreme. There's no point having eight solutions, let's have one national solution.”

⏭️ What’s next? Federal Climate Change and Energy Assistant Minister Josh Wilson, Liberal Senator for South Australia Andrew McLachlan and MPs Jerome Laxale and Zali Steggall were among the senior representatives attending the event.

• Parents for Climate chief executive Nic Seton said the popularity of the event demonstrated “nationwide support for cost-saving resilience through solar and batteries on every school and childcare centre”.

• 🗣️ “The policy is ready and the support is there, now it’s time for the Federal Government to deliver,” said Seton. “When parents and kids speak directly to decision-makers, it cuts through. We heard again and again that this is a ‘no brainer’.”