10k apartments now connected to solar with Australian-made cleantech

Against a backdrop of rising energy prices, Melbourne-based cleantech company Allume has reached the milestone of unlocking solar energy for 10,000 apartments, delivering electricity bill savings to residents across Australia, UK, USA and Germany. 

SolShare installation, Waverton, NSW

In Australia, an estimated 2 million people live in low to medium-rise apartments who, until recently, were unable to install rooftop solar due to technical and cost considerations. 

Allume’s enabling technology, SolShare, unlocks solar for this previously underserved population, allowing apartment residents to benefit from clean and affordable energy.

Of the 10,000 apartments, 6,000 are located in Australia. Allume’s data indicates residents’ bills are 34% cheaper on average per apartment – this amounts to around $381 per year.

The success of SolShare and reaching 10,000 apartment residents has resulted in significant growth for Allume, which grew 109% over the past 3 years, and is predicted to double again in 2026.

Allume’s CEO & Co-Founder, Cameron Knox explains,

"We're incredibly proud that our homegrown technology is providing people – who were previously locked out – with direct access to cheaper, cleaner solar power right from their own rooftops. Connecting 10,000 households to SolShare proves that the transition to renewables can, and should, be accessible to all.”

For Veronica, an Allume customer and resident of a 13-unit building in Camperdown, NSW, the electricity bill savings are substantial;

“Prior to installing solar, it was about $120 to $130 a month, and now it's down to about $70 or $80 a month. So I'm saving I think about $50 a month since installing solar… [there’s no] alternative to allocating solar out to each apartment apart from using Allume and the SolShare device.”

Government subsidy programs are helping fuel momentum for solar for apartments – Victoria's Solar for Apartments Rebates and the NSW Solar for Apartment Residents (SoAR) Grant – which make the economic case a no-brainer for owners committees:

• The Solar for Apartments Program in Victoria provides rebates on solar projects of up to $2,800 per apartment (up to $140,000 per property), which covers an average of 71% of costs. Applications are open until July 2027.

• The Solar For Apartment Residents (SoAR) program in NSW provides grants of up 50% of total costs, with an additional funding boost for specific suburbs. The program is accepting applications until December 2026.

About Allume

Founded in Melbourne, VIC in 2015, Allume’s vision is a world where everyone can access clean and affordable energy from the sun. To pursue that vision, Allume developed a world-first technology, SolShare, which enables fair sharing of solar energy from a single rooftop solar PV system amongst multiple dwellings within the same building. Allume has been featured in The Age, The Australian Financial Review, and Forbes.