Australia Energy Solar Energy

A new report published by industry group SunWiz shows there is now more than 20,000 megawatts of small-scale solar capacity installed on household and business roofs across the country. Australia is leading the world in the uptake of photovoltaic cells, which convert sunlight into electricity.

Government subsidies and high energy prices have increased installation of rooftop solar to more than 3.4 million homes and businesses.  Solar’s share of power generation is expected to increase as more coal plants are shut down over the next several years.
Against this backdrop, Queenslanders have installed 5.2GW of rooftop solar power, and will soon hit 1 million installations in the state.
NSW, the most populous state, is currently installing the greatest amount of rooftop solar power panels each month, at nearly 100MW.
South Australia leads in per-household uptake, with 45% per cent of dwellings hosting a solar power system. The national average is 31% of dwellings.

The ACT was the highest growth market in Australia in 2022, with Victoria responsible for driving growth in volumes and improved standards across residential solar, energy storage systems, and small commercial panel systems.

It took Australia 11 years to reach its first 10,000 MW of solar generation capacity and just four years for the second 10,000 MW.  There is a tremendous opportunity for U.S. companies to play a role in Australian’s cleantech transition.

For more information on the Australian renewable energy market please contact the U.S. Commercial Service in Australia: office.australia@trade.gov.