Australia Achieves A Significant Global Solar Milestone

With the growth of solar electricity, Australia has become a renewable energy superpower. Rising power bills during COVID-19 prompted house and business owners around the country to rush towards solar panels used to alleviate the financial strain. This has resulted in Australia becoming a rising solar energy hub. 

According to a recent study from the Australian Photovoltaics Institute (APVI), Australia has passed a key solar milestone, with 25GW of solar deployed across the country and the country now having the world’s highest solar by per capita!

Despite the second wave of Covid 19 upheaval and increasingly major worldwide solar market constraints, Australian households , and businesses successfully got installed a staggering amount of rooftop solar Panels systems in the year 2021, narrowly edging over the estimated milestone of 3GW of additional capacity added in a year.

Due to the countrywide investment exceeding three million homes and small organizations in rooftop solar, as well as an increasing array of large-scale installations, Australia continues to stay in the top 10 nations globally for yearly growth and overall solar installations.

With an approximate population of around 25.7 million people and having reached the milestone of at least 25.4GW of solar installed, Australia has risen to the top of the installed solar per capita rankings, with about 1kW installed solar per capita. The rest of the world is well behind it.

Australia had almost 800 watts of solar installed per person by the end of 2020, much ahead of Germany, which had 650 watts installed per person. With 25GW of solar panels system installations completed by 2021, Australia have roughly 1000 watts or 1 kilowatts per person.

What Prompted Australia’s Solar Energy Boom?

Australia is extremely lucky to have so much sunshine at its disposal as a country. This translates to an infinite ability to store energy at peak periods, which is especially important in areas where blackouts are common.

COVID-19 caused havoc in a variety of ways during 2020 and 2021, and the energy business was no exception. Despite the fact that COVID-19 restrictions along with lockdowns limited the number of installations, energy consumption has increased by 105% since the outbreak, owing mostly to work- from- home, remote and at-home learning. As a result, customers’ willingness to pursue more sustainable, pocket-friendly energy solutions was influenced.

Solar panels, to the rescue!

Although several Australians have been using the solar energy for years, COVID-19’s effects, along with increased subsidies and tariff, resulted in making this a top priority for people. What was formerly a ‘unaffordable’ or ‘pricey’ source of energy is now fast becoming mainstream, and the year 2021  further added to this trend.

The Role Of Australian Government’s Renewable Energy Target (RET) Scheme

Since the government’s Renewable Energy Target (RET) plan debuted on April 1, 2001, Australia’s solar sector has experienced rapid expansion. Between the period of 2001 and 2010, the solar market grew at a rate of roughly 15%, before accelerating dramatically from 2010 to 2013.

The market is moving higher, primarily by residential installations, after stabilizing during the years 2014 and 2015. Rooftop solar is already a significant part of Australia’s energy mix, accounting for 7.9% of the National Electricity Market (NEM) consumption in 2021, rising from 6.4 % in the year 2020 as well as 5.2% during 2019.

In accordance with the figures released by the Climate Council, the generation of renewable energy in the National Electricity Market climbed by almost 20% during 2021, with renewables accounting for 31.4% of electricity output the year before.

Batteries Can Aid In Promoting Renewable Energy 

According to the Clean Energy Council (CEC), home batteries might make it easier for most of the Australians to take advantage of renewable energy such as solar, as outlined in Dr Helen Haines’ “Cheaper Home Batteries Bill”.

Home batteries would be a part of the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES) under the plan suggested by Ms Haines. It’s a scheme that has widespread support and has contributed in the rise of sustainable energy in Australia.

Household batteries are becoming more common, with more and more households planning to install one. While the price of residential batteries keeps on dropping, the system’s upfront cost is still a hurdle for majority of Australians.

If governments incentivize battery solutions, the battery system’s upfront cost may  reduce, and the growth of the household battery sector can also be accelerated.

Why Is Currently The Best Time In Australia To Install Solar Panels?

While there is an upfront expense associated with installing solar power systems, in the long run these systems pay for themselves. Most importantly, government is offering rebates on solar systems and most of these systems now come with a comprehensive guarantee, offering customers peace of mind when it comes to their installation.

Australians can see a return on their investment in as little as a few years, lowering their electricity bills. That’s a major gain! So, buy household batteries and switch to solar today with Sunburn Solar.