Australia’s rooftop solar market has notched up yet another record month of installs, in what is almost certain to be an all-time record year.
The latest data from PV market analysts SunWiz shows that a total of 142MW of solar was installed on rooftops in the month of August, bolstered by growth in the residential and small business sectors – even as system prices rose, slightly.
The all-time record month has secured a path to a record year, with the installs from the first eight months of 2018 already exceeding the volume registered in any year, aside from 2017, and nearly 1GW so far.
NSW regained top spot for the month with 41MW installed, overtaking Queensland. The only state to fall was Victoria, possibly an early sign that interest was wavering – at least temporarily – as customers sought a better deal from the Labor government’s proposed 50 per cent rebate.
“August’s growth came from 6.5-8kW systems, plus some growth in the 10-20kW range. The volume in all other commercial size ranges also grew, with the exception of 75-100kW range,” said SunWiz managing director Warwick Johnston.
“In proportional terms, Victoria is now the place for commercial PV, having overtaken South Australia,” Johnston said.
Commercial growth is outstripping residential in Queensland, too, he added.
On PV system prices, Johnston notes that there has been a slight uptick.
“SolarChoice’s system price indexes increased across the board in September, for the first time in a long time,” he said.
Average system size, meanwhile, eased back to 7.35kW.
Sophie is editor of One Step Off The Grid and deputy editor of its sister site, Renew Economy. Sophie has been writing about clean energy for more than a decade.
