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https://reneweconomy.com.au/australians-are-installing-batteries-at-a-record-rate-as-rooftop-solar-heads-for-major-new-milestone/>
"Australia is hurtling towards a major new milestone of 25 gigawatts (GW) total
installed rooftop solar capacity, and adding behind-the-meter batteries to the
mix at a record rate, as households and businesses continue their march to
cheaper bills and energy independence.
The Clean Energy Council’s bi-annual
Rooftop Solar and Storage Report for the
first half of 2024, published on Wednesday, puts the cumulative total of panels
installed on rooftops around the country at 24.4 GW, well on track to passing
the 25 GW mark by the end of the year.
This is now clearly more than the remaining total combined power generating
capacity of black and brown coal-fired power stations in the country, which
stood at 21.3 GW in the financial year to 2023-24.
And as coal power makes its way out of the mix, solar continues to grow, with a
total installed capacity of 1.3 GW added so far this year – or 141,364 systems
– taking the share of rooftop PV in the national electricity mix to 11.3 per
cent, as of the end of June.
“Over 3.7 million homes and small businesses now have solar panels on their
roofs,” says Clean Energy Council co-chief policy and impact officer, Con
Hristodoulidis.
“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.”
But more and more consumers are now also looking beyond generating electrons on
their rooftops to storing them in home batteries for use when the sun – or the
grid – goes down.
“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,” Hristadoulidis says."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
