Rooftop solar surges ahead with 1.3 GW installed in H1 2024

Australian households and small businesses continue to spearhead the nation’s renewable energy transition with a new report revealing that 1.3 GW of rooftop solar was installed during the first half of 2024.

September 25, 2024 David Carroll

Image: CEC

A new report released by the Clean Energy Council (CEC) shows Australian households added 141,364 new rooftop solar systems with a combined generation capacity of 1.3 GW to the national electricity grid in the first six months of the year.

More than 3.7 million Australian homes and small businesses now have solar panels on their roofs with the CEC’s bi-annual Rooftop Solar and Storage Report showing that rooftop PV contributed 11.3%, or 13,479 GWh, to the nation’s total energy generation mix during the first half of 2024,

“Australian consumers are continuing to lead the world in adopting rooftop solar,” CEC Co-Chief Policy and Impact Officer Con Hristodoulidis said.

“It’s become a staple investment for homeowners and small businesses. With typical payback periods of around three to four years, rooftop solar is now a recognised and simple step to take pressure off the family budget.”

National installed rooftop PV capacity (GW), by year
*Image: CEC*

With a cumulative total of 24.4 GW, Australia’s rooftop solar installations are on course to pass a combined total of 25 GW installed capacity by the end of 2024, the CEC said, noting that rooftop PV capacity has already outstripped that provided by coal-fired generation. Black and brown coal combined for 21.3 GW of total installed capacity in the financial year to 2023-24.

New South Wales (NSW) led the way for highest installed capacity of any state during the first six months of the year, with 454 MW of new rooftop solar deployed. Queensland and Victoria were second and third place respectively with installed capacities of 360 MW and 246 MW.

NSW has the highest level of total installed capacity of rooftop PV with 6.6 GW, more than 25% of the entire Australian capacity. It also became the second state to pass one million total rooftop PV installations, after Queensland achieved that milestone in 2023.

The CEC report, developed with data provided by solar consultancy SunWiz, shows that the size of the average rooftop system grew in the first half of 2024 to 9.7 kW, a new bi-annual record. By comparison, the average system size a decade ago was 4.3 kW, and 7.4 kW five years ago.

Total batteries sold, quarterly
*Image: CEC*

The report also shows growth in the uptake of home battery energy storage systems with nearly 30,000 battery units sold in the first half of 2024. The rolling 12-month quarterly average of battery sales has now been revised to a record of 14,555.

Battery attachments to rooftop PV are also steadily growing, with the cumulative total passing 140,000 in the second quarter of 2024.

Despite the growth, Hristodoulidis said home battery uptake remains well behind the levels needed to efficiently achieve Australia’s 82% renewable energy target in 2030.

In the first half of 2024, only 20.7% of rooftop solar installations had an accompanying small-scale battery installed and Hristodoulidis said now is time for a national incentive scheme to drive the take up of home battery systems.

“Incentives for home batteries are needed now to maximise Australia’s world-leading rooftop solar capacity,” he said.

“Over 3.7 million homes and small businesses now have solar panels on their roofs, helping them reduce their energy bills in the daytime. Home batteries are now the missing piece of the puzzle, to maximise those solar savings for times when the sun isn’t shining and smash household energy bills.”

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