Solar

Rooftop solar market bucks predictions of gloom again in March

Published by

Australia’s rooftop solar market has again defied forecasts of impending gloom (not quite doom), with installed volume charting upwards for the second month in a row in March, as homes and businesses continue to invest in cleaner, cheaper energy.

The latest monthly report from industry statisticians, SunWiz, shows installations continuing to recover momentum after a slow start to the year, with another 234MW of sub-100kW PV systems installed around the nation, taking the total for the year so far to around 630MW.

Source: SunWiz

That’s an 8.3% increase in volume month-on-month from February (216MW) to March, but not enough of an increase in momentum to keep the market ahead of 2020 volumes, SunWiz said. And compared to this time last year, the market remains 24% below figures from March 2021.

Source: SunWiz

The upward momentum of rooftop solar installs was mirrored in every state except for NSW, which after a big February had a relatively flat month in March, as the chart below illustrates. Victoria and Queensland marked the biggest month-on-month upticks in volume, with 11% each.

Source: SunWiz

According to SunWiz’s data, there are currently more than 3.1 million rooftop solar systems installed totalling in Australia within the federal government’s small-scale renewable energy scheme (SRES) – a total of around 17.5GW.

SunWiz says the average rooftop solar system size for this year’s range is currently sitting ar around 8.57kW, with the 6.3-8kW range remaining the most popular within the residential market.

SunWiz managing director Warwick Johnston noted that the last three years have shown an uptrend in demand in the 10-15kW range, while the 6.3-8kW range has been trending down over the last 12 months.

“All states except for Queensland (which held steady) and WA (which decreased) observed an increase in average system sizes over March 2022,” Johnston said.

As for the market outlook, the Johnston says the Clean Energy Regulator, which oversees the SRES, is still forecasting a choppy year for small-scale solar, with installed capacity volumes expected to fluctuate over coming months.

Source: SunWiz

This post was published on April 6, 2022 11:52 am

Share
Published by

Recent Posts

If hot water ran off daytime solar, we could slash emissions and tame the solar duck

Switching water heaters to charge during the day can soak up solar and make sure…

November 15, 2024

Rooftop solar: Australia celebrates “momentous” milestone as 4 million households tap cheapest power

Australia has notched up a new renewable energy milestone, with the number of households around…

November 14, 2024

Rooftop solar almost always pays off – but what happens when you add batteries?

A client recently presented us with a challenge: More than 2,000 properties that could have…

November 14, 2024

Solar and battery microgrids slash diesel and dollars in six remote towns

A $15m large-scale solar and battery storage rollout across six regional Western Australia towns has…

November 13, 2024

Virtual power plants will fail without an industry overhaul that puts consumers first

Australians aren’t signing up to VPPs at the rate the government needs to meet its…

November 13, 2024

CEFC to back new green loans program to support household solar, batteries and upgrades

Clean Energy Finance Corporation signs agreement with ING Australia to deliver another low-rate green loan…

November 13, 2024