The size of rooftop solar installations is continuing to trend upwards with Australian Energy Council (AEC) analysis of the Clean Energy Regulator’s (CER) latest Quarterly Carbon Market Report revealing that the average size of a rooftop PV system installed in Australia in the second quarter of 2023 was 9.3 kW. This is up on the Q1 2023 average of 8.7 kW and well above the acknowledged norm of 6.6 kW.
Households in the Northern Territory installed some of the largest rooftop systems rolled out in the second quarter, with systems hitting a high of 14.1 kW during the 1 April to 30 June 2023 period. Queensland and South Australia were next with average system size in both states reaching 10.1 kW during the term.
The AEC said the growth of system size continues a trend seen in recent years with Australian households and businesses keen to take advantage of technology advancements and decreasing costs in the market in their search for greater energy independence.
At the end of the second quarter, Australia’s total installed solar rooftop capacity had reached 20.5 GW with more than 61,000 new installations added to the grid in the three months with a total installed capacity of 520 MW.
The number of installations is down on the 80,300 rooftop PV systems installed in Q1 2023 but the AEC said it expects the Q2 figures will be revised upwards, noting that the data reporting has a 12-month lag.
“Based on projections, the final figures are expected to be even higher, with approximately 91,000 new rooftop installations expected to be recorded by the end of the reporting period,” it said. “This surge in installations is also projected to lead to a total installed capacity of 827 MW, further indicating the growing adoption of rooftop solar solutions in the second quarter of 2023.”
Image: AEC
New South Wales (NSW) homeowners led Australia in terms of newly installed rooftop solar systems, with 33.1% of the national total for the quarter. It was followed by Queensland and Victoria with 26.1% and 17% of the total installations respectively.
The AEC said the improved take-up came despite increasing interest rates which is estimated to have pushed out the payback period for solar systems by 12 months.
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