NSW hits 2GW of rooftop solar, as installation records continue to tumble

Australian businesses and households installed a total of 177MW of rooftop solar in the month of May, thanks to a booming commercial market and record installation levels in both New South Wales and Queensland.

The latest data from solar consultants SunWiz on installations up to 100kW is size shows a big month from the eastern NEM states, with a record monthly total of 47MW helping NSW to reach the milestone 2GW mark for total installed rooftop solar capacity.

Queensland – which was the first Australian state to pass the 2GW rooftop solar mark – now sits at a total capacity of 2,564MW, after its own record month of 45MW installed for May.

Victoria installed a total of 42MW – a number that SunWiz says would have been higher, but for the months-long pause in the state’s residential solar rebate.

All said, total capacity installed so far for 2019 is nearly 50 per cent ahead of where we were this time last year, and ahead of the full-year tally for all years except 2017 and 18.

SunWiz managing director Warwick Johnston noted that the trend in the commercial rooftop market remained focussed on the 10-20kW range, which continued to reach new heights.

“We remain 43 per cent ahead of the same point 2018. Which also means we’ve exceeded the annual tally of 2011, 2104, 2015, and 2016… all within the first 5 months of the year,” he said.

“May’s volume was lower than March’s in each of the residential segments. But May’s commercial volume was ahead of March’s – showing (in the absence of Victoria’s residential rebate) an increasing focus on commercial.”

You can read about SunWiz’s tally for both large- and small-scale solar capacity in Australia here.