Since August 2018, the Victorian government has installed five million individual solar panels on the state’s rooftops via their Solar Homes Program, equating to 2 GW of power. which is almost double that generated by the brown coal Yallourn power station.
The Solar Homes Program (SHP) uptake represent 13% of the total renewable capacity installed in the state, with its solar panels cumulatively generating 6.5 GWh of power – enough cheap renewable energy to power every fridge in Victoria for almost two years.
The program has seen 350,000 solar panel, hot water, and solar battery systems installed through rebates and interest-free loans.
The last 12 months were the program’s biggest, with 7,873 approved applications including 4,435 rooftop solar approvals and 3,125 solar hot water approvals and consumer bill savings are estimated at $279 million (USD 183.9 million).
Melbourne’s western suburbs Tarneit, Truganina, Werribee and Hoppers Crossing saw a 44% adoption of rooftop solar.
In regional Victoria, Mildura and Shepparton have the highest solar uptake closely followed by Wodonga, Wangaratta and Wallan.
Solar is now installed on 30% of Victorian homes with 352,862 installations completed since the program began including 275,643 solar panel systems, 17,460 solar battery systems and 30,474 solar hot water systems installed.
In the SHP, solar installations attract a $1,400 rebate, a $1,400 interest free loan and up to $1,000 to replace their hot water system – cutting $3,800 from upfront installation costs, the Victorian government says.
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