People power: Rooftop solar PV reaches 3GW in Australia
People power: Rooftop solar PV reaches 3GW in Australia
By Giles Parkinson on 4 December 2013
Australia has passed through another significant solar milestone, reaching 3GW of solar PV this month, as Queensland nudged the 1GW mark and states such as South Australia reached household penetration rates of 25 per cent.
Solar power is reshaping Australias electricity market, says Warwick Johnston, the head of solar research group SunWiz, who compiled the data. This is a milestone as note-worthy as the one millionth solar power system that was installed in April.
The growth in solar PV in Australia is quite remarkable, given that Australias capacity was barely more than 180MW in 2009. Much of this growth came as a result of generous feed in tariffs, but the growth continues as a new generation of households look to solar to hedge against the rising cost of grid-based electricity, to make a statement about green energy, or to do both.
Australia is almost unique in the world in having its solar installations almost exclusively in rooftop solar PV. That, according to Johnston, now totals 3GW on its own, mostly residential but also on a growing number of commercial rooftops, such as wineries.
Australia has only one solar PV array above 1.2MW...
http://reneweconomy.com.au/2013/people-power-rooftop-solar-pv-reaches-3gw-in-australia-99543