Another solar record falls as average rooftop PV system size hits new high

Australia has set yet another rooftop solar record, this time for average system size, which reach a new all-time high of 9.59kW over the month of September, according to the latest data from SunWiz.

In what was a slightly quieter month for installs, compared to August, SunWiz says that number of households installing systems with a generation capacity lower than 10kW continued its downwards trend. More households are installing systems of between 10 and 15kW, and the 15-20kW sector also grew.

The push for bigger systems comes as more Australian buy – or at least plan to buy – an electric vehicle, and amid the growing push for the electrification of homes, and the shift away from fossil gas heating and cooking appliances.

“In another record month for average system size … all segment volumes cooled, except for the >15-20kW and >75-100kW ranges,” says SunWiz managing director Warwick Johnston.

Residential and 15-20kW volumes had the largest impact on national volume for September, Johnston says.

Overall, the market fell by 9 per cent month-on-month, with a total of 264MW installed over September, compared to 290MW installed in August.

This is consistent with the data showing a contraction in volumes across all states and territories, except for the NT, which as you can see in the chart below is slightly up for the month.

New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria contributed the most to the September national total.

Johnston says that despite dropping below August levels, September 2023 volumes beat out the same month in all previous years with the exception of 2021, with which this year’s result is on par.

“The market year-to-date figures are 17 per cent ahead of the volumes seen at the same time last year,” he says.