Australia Surpasses 1.3 Million Solar PV Installations

Australians continue to embrace solar energy despite reductions in Feed-in Tariffs (FiT) and government backflips on rebates in recent years.

Data from the Clean Energy Regulator shows a total of 1,393,529 small scale solar PV installations in Australia since 2001.

Things started really heating up for the solar industry in 2009 with a 215% increase in the number of smaller solar power systems installed compared to 2008. This was due to the Federal Labor government at the time launching the Solar Credits Scheme which is a program designed to give subsidies to homeowners, businesses and non-profits allowing them to purchase solar panels at a fraction of the retail price.

The scheme worked so well that from 2010 we’ve seen solar PV installations in the hundreds of thousands each year since.

The chart below shows the dramatic effect the Solar Credits Scheme has had on the uptake of solar energy in this country.

Here is a table with the same data from the Clean Energy Regulator:

On the flip side, solar panel prices have dropped considerably compared to even two years ago; making shorter payback periods a lot more appealing. Couple this with the rising cost of electricity and it makes great sense to make the switch to solar.