Rooftop solar rebounds to record levels, as small systems make a comeback

Australia’s rooftop solar market has swung back into record-setting territory, with a total of 292MW of new capacity registered across the country in May – the largest total for the month of May ever recorded.

The latest data from industry analysts SunWiz shows national market volumes rose by 13% compared to April, crossing above straight-line averages for the first time since December 2023 and after two months of downturn.

SunWiz managing director Warwick Johnston says the uptick is partly due to the market starting to ramp back up after school and public holidays in April.

Growth was also driven by the commercial rooftop solar sector, with the 15-100kW market continuing its start-of-year string of record volumes for each month.

And while the average rooftop solar system size still hovers around 9.8kW, Johnston notes that there was an uptick in installations of 3kW and 4-6kW solar systems in May – a trend he says might come down to affordability.

Around the country, Johnston says all state volumes lifted in May, with most showing a double-digit percentage increase.

“Most notably South Australia and Victoria volumes grew by 27% and 19% respectively. Victoria, followed by Queensland and then New South Wales led growth in national volumes,” he says.