Smashing end to winter for solar as rooftop installs hit a new high

Australia’s rooftop solar market has shaken off the winter blues and closed out the colder months with a new high for the year – a total of 265MW of panels installed in August.

According to the latest data from industry analysts and statisticians, SunWiz, PV installation volumes for August have lifted the bar for the year, charting an 11 per cent increase on the previous high of 234MW recorded in March and a 17 per cent increase on July volumes.

SunWiz managing director Warwick Johnston says the 265MW recorded in August 2022 also beats volumes recorded in August of 2020 and 2021, although in year-to-date terms, August 2022 finds the market lagging around 21 per cent behind the 2021 pace – as you can see in the chart, below right.

The jump in installs comes as households and small businesses start to have first-hand experience of soaring wholesale energy market prices, either in the form of a more costly electricity bill, or of a letter from their retailer warning of higher bills to come.

As coal and gas prices continue to rise, rooftop solar is one of the few ways that households can rein in energy costs.

A recent St Vincent de Paul report tracking electricity tariffs found that the average market offer jumped by $855 or 44% in July 2022, compared to July 2021.

The report also found that homes in the Sunshine State with as little as 3kW of rooftop solar were paying roughly $900 a year less for their electricity bills than non-solar homes.

According to SunWiz’s August stats, all states and territories (except for the NT) reported increases in volume month-on-month, with NSW and Victoria charting the biggest growth of 30% and 28% respectively.