Australia boasted 1,393,526 rooftop PV systems, representing 4,132 MW of installed PV capacity, as of March 2015. These systems are generating millions of dollars worth of clean, renewable electricity each day.
The new installation figures are from Australia’s Clean Energy Regulator, which also indicated the sun-drenched nation racked up 32.467MW* of solar panel system installs in March based on SGU (Small Generation Unit) certificate registration – 53% less capacity than March last year.
In February 2015, 2,756 new rooftop PV installations totaling 51.49 MW were registered under Australia’s Renewable Energy Target (RET).
Previous installation figures reported:
January 2015 – 48.380 MW
December 2014 – 61.645 MW
November 2014 – 68.276 MW
October 2014 – 75.489 MW
September 2014 – 71.199 MW
August 2014 – 65.597 MW
July 2014 – 71.593 MW
June 2014 – 63.949 MW
May 2014 – 71.844 MW
April 2014 – 56.950MW
March 2014 – 62.058 MW
February 2014 – 57.897 MW
The 4,132 MW of current installed capacity represents huge potential savings for house solar panels. Quick back-of-virtual-envelope calculations peg the retail value of the electricity generated by these systems at an estimated $4.6 million a day – or north of $1.68 billion a year (based on an average 4 sun-hours a day and a 28c per kilowatt-hour electricity price).
The amount of avoided carbon emissions is also significant. Based on coal fired electricity generation emissions of one kilogram per kilowatt hour, roughly 16,528 tonnes of emissions are potentially avoided each day, or 6,032,720 tonnes a year.
Far from being a plaything of the rich, uptake of solar power systems cuts across all homeowner demographics in Australia; having been made more accessible by falling component prices, zero deposit payment plans and lease based products.
For nearly 1.4 million Australian households, receiving an electricity bill is no longer as traumatic as it once was – and in some cases, there’s no electricity bill to speak of at all.
Solar is also become an attractive option for landlords.
“Rental properties with solar power are becoming highly sought-after and, for many investors and tenants alike, this can be a real selling point,” says Terri Scheer Insurance executive manager Carolyn Parrella.
* RET legislation allows a 12 month creation period for certificates associated with solar power systems to be registered. The 2015 and some of the 2014 figures quoted above will continue to rise due to the 12 month creation period.
