Australia’s small-scale rooftop solar systems have set a new record this summer, supplying more of Australia’s electricity than brown coal.
Providing a record 14 per cent of Australia’s needs, rooftop solar also dispatched more energy to the grid than all other renewable sources, including grid-scale wind farms and solar farms.
Clean Energy Council Chief Executive Kane Thornton said the achievement was especially noteworthy, given this summer has enjoyed less sunshine than in an average year.“ There is no doubt with inflation and cost of living pressures, people are turning to rooftop solar in record numbers,” Thornton said. “Thousands of Australians are switching to rooftop solar and seeing their benefits to their hip pockets and the environment. In fact, payback periods for rooftop solar are now at near record-low levels, at 3.4 years for a 7 kW system. “We’re seeing a fundamental shift; consumers are becoming energy generators, making their own clean energy, reducing their bills and taking on the electricity companies. ”Thornton said these figures measure only what enters the grid.
“Even more clean, low-cost generation was produced and used by households themselves, taking pressure off our strained system,” he said “Australia is a world leader in rooftop solar. ”The total output for rooftop solar for summer was 8046 GWh, up by 19.5 per cent on the previous year .Energy bills have risen by between 15 and 20 per cent since mid-2022 sparking a surge in small-scale solar installations.