Solar power at home? Australia now leads world in rooftop solar

The sustained growth of solar energy within Australia has seen the country rank first in the world in capacity per person. Australia has seen an increase greater than ten-fold in the amount of rooftop solar systems installed since 2011. 

Australia saw 370,000 new rooftop solar systems installed on homes and businesses throughout 2020, a record number for both. Total installations were slightly down on 2019 due to a drop in utility scale panels, but remained the second-largest on record. 

With 810W of solar power per person at the end of 2020, Australia is ranked first ahead of Germany’s 650W. We have also been within the top 10 worldwide markets for solar panels by total installs and total installed capacity for over a decade, despite only having a population of 25 million. 

The numbers show Australia is a growing force in the renewable energy world, despite consistently ranking as one of the worst emission offenders. With the Prime Minister last week announcing a federal plan for net-zero emissions by 2050, Australia is likely to continue in its position as a top solar power nation. 

Where is Australia’s solar located?

Australia has a total of 20.8GW of installed solar capacity around the country, of which 13GW is on rooftops. 

By the end of 2020, more than 2.68 million Aussie homes had solar panels on their rooftops, accounting for more than one in four premises. 

Queensland and South Australia lead the way for Australian states and territories, with both nearing 40% of homes featuring rooftop solar systems. Tasmania, despite ranking last with just under 20% of homes featuring solar, is Australia’s most renewable state with over 99% of power coming from green sources.

If you’re interested in getting solar in your home, check out our guide on how to save money with solar panels. 

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