Rooftop solar charts “massive upswing” as 2022 draws to a close

Australia’s rooftop solar market is closing out a true ‘solar coaster’ of a year with a “massive upswing” in installation numbers, new data has shown, as consumers continue to pile in and as industry works its way through a backlog of orders.

The latest market update from industry analyst SunWiz shows a month-on-month jump of 26% in installs across Australia, marking an all-time high for any November and the third-highest monthly volume recorded to date.

After a slight dip in rooftop PV growth in October, when a total of 234MW of installs were recorded – compared to 253MW in September – a total of 295MW of solar was installed on homes and businesses around the country in November.

SunWiz says November also delivered the second-highest ever monthly average system size, driven by bigger rooftop systems being installed, with particular growth in the 8-10kW residential range and the 15-30kW small commercial range.

According to the report, all states and territories charted growth in the volume of rooftop solar installed over November, but the stand-out was the ACT.

SunWiz managing director Warwick Johnston says the ACT is “going gangbusters,” with an increase in the volume of rooftop solar installations that is up by an eye-catching 56% for the year to date.

Tasmania has also seen some impressive growth, putting the state up 50 per cent on month-on-month volumes.

As a tumultuous year comes to an end, Johnston says it is still the global and local energy crisis and ongoing high electricity prices that are driving the upswing in installations, as households and businesses seek tangible cuts to cost of living.

Johnston says the increased installation rate could also come down to factors like improved weather and a last minute rush to get in before the looming annual cut to the STC value.

Sophie Vorrath

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.