Demand for home solar photovoltaic (PV) systems is already surging but growing energy costs and sinking PV panel prices mean Australian solar homes are set to surpass a million.
According to the Australian Clean Energy Regulator (ACER), more than 850,000 homes have solar PV panels with an installed capacity of just under 2 gigawatts.
At the current rate, the number of homes with solar power before will exceeed a million by the end of June next year, Professor Ray Wills, chief adviser to the Sustainable Energy Association (SEA) told Fairfax Media.
The current take-up rate. Image: Business Day
Recent reports show the technology has withstood the removal of various government feed-in tariffs to recover its expansion pace.
And reduced costs smong suppliers mean much faster household payback periods.
Wills said: "By 2013-14, solar panels will be so cheap that you'll coat every surface that has exposure to sunlight."
