Small and medium businesses installing rooftop solar to cut costs and gain more independence from the grid have helped to deliver another bumper month for rooftop solar in Australia, with a total of 126MW installed across June.
The latest data from solar analysts SunWiz shows that while registrations fell for the month from May’s record volume, they fell to a level that was still the second-highest on record.
That means, says SunWiz managing director Warwick Johnston, that “for the first six months of 2018 we’re just shy of the total sub-100kW installation tally for 2015 or 2016. We’re also 50 per cent ahead of the same time last year.” (See chart below.)
Driving momentum this month has been commercial-sized solar systems, with significant growth in systems sized over 30kW. Residential registrations, meanwhile, “fell pronouncedly,” says Johnston.
Solar growth in NSW also fell, but – again – to levels that were its second-best month on record.
The SunWiz report says commercial is growing in Victoria, WA and Queensland, with small commercial continues on its trajectory in NSW, Queensland and Victoria, and large commercial bouncing up in Queensland and Victoria.
Average rooftop solar system size also reached a new record, the report says, jumping to 7.3kW.
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.
