rooftop solar

Australia’s uptake of rooftop solar is one of the highest in the world with more than 30% of free-standing households across the nation now fitted with a PV system but the Clean Energy Regulator has revealed a “steep decline” in the number of installations in early 2022 with deteriorating economics playing a major part.

The rollout of rooftop solar in the western suburbs of Melbourne is set to get a boost with Victorian network service provider Powercor identifying the site where it will install a community battery that is expected to unlock more than 129MWh of solar PV hosting capacity.

About 1 million New South Wales households will be able to apply for an upfront payment of almost $3,000 to put towards a solar system or energy-saving upgrades to home appliances as part of a new state government program designed to reduce energy bills as power prices soar.

Melbourne’s City of Boroondara council has ordered a homeowner to remove rooftop solar panels on a street-facing facade due to the building’s position in a heritage overlay. In 2021 the City of Boroondara declared a climate emergency and called for a tripling of rooftop solar in the municipality. The homeowner described the decision as “ridiculous.”

With architects and construction companies across the world showing an increasing interest in building integrated PV, one Australian company has outlined plans to clad an eight-storey building being constructed in West Melbourne with a “solar skin” that will generate almost all of the building’s base power.

Australian supermarket giant Woolworths has marked a major milestone in its rooftop solar program with a store in the Canberra suburb of Conder becoming the retailer’s 150th outlet to be fitted with solar PV panels.

Western Australia’s City of Stirling has fast tracked its investment in an estimated $6 million solar PV program in a bid to maximise potential savings and reach its goal of sourcing 100% of the city’s electricity needs from renewables by 2030.

With some of the highest rooftop solar PV penetration in Australia the outback town of Alice Springs will soon play host to the Northern Territory’s first resident Virtual Power Plant with the project partners exploring how best to bolster the reliability of the local grid and pave the way for the increased penetration of renewable energy.

One of Australia’s largest regional cities has signed a long-term power purchase agreement with Victorian network operator AusNet Services’ independent subsidiary Mondo Power as part of plans to install solar PV arrays on 90% of city-owned buildings in less than four years.

Australian liquor supermarket chain Dan Murphy’s has continued its deployment of rooftop solar PV as parent company Endeavour Group pursues its ambition to power all the of retailer’s more than 250 stores across the country with 100% renewable electricity by 2030.