As prices fall, Aussies are adding to the size of their solar energy systems
Queenslanders added 86,000 solar installations in 2020, second only to NSW, as the national total increased by 28 per cent, according to the CSIRO.
It analysed data from the Clean Energy Regulator and revealed that there were 362,000 rooftop solar installations in 2020. The majority were residential and CSIRO chief executive Larry Marshall said the anlysis showed there was a strong appetite for solar.
As costs for rooftop solar fell, the systems were also getting bigger and the size was now between 8 and 8.5 kilowatts.
A total of 3 gigawatts of solar voltaic capacity was installed in 2020, a 40 per cent increase on 2019 and the Clean Energy Regulator expects that to increase in 2021 with another 3.5 to 4 gigawatts. To put that in perspective the Tarong Power Station has a capacity of 1.4 gigawatts.
There were now 2.68 million rooftop solar systems in Australia, effectively representing one in every four homes.
The adoption of batteries was also growing. In Queensland, 6400 solar PV systems have a battery added.
The postcodes where solar boomed in 2020 were mostly in Victoria and senior CSIRO scientist Michael Ambrose said Australia now had the highest uptake of solar in the world.
“Australia is one of the sunniest places on the planet. we lead the world in photovoltaic capacity on a per capita basis of 591 watts per person, which is almost eight times to worldwide average,” Ambrose said.
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