Australia should develop its own solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing sector to avoid over-reliance on China for supply and tap into an industry with great potential, a report backed by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (Arena) has found.

The decades-long expansion of the industry in China had driven the cost of solar panels down by more than two-thirds since 2016 alone. Chinese companies now dominate the global market and supply more than 90% of solar modules sold in Australia.