Australian rooftop solar installs hit 93MW in May, highest since 2012

Australian households and businesses are installing rooftop solar PV at a rate not seen since 2012, according to the latest data from industry analysts SunWiz.

In its latest monthly report, SunWiz said that a total of 5.7GW or rooftop PV had been installed on 1.7 million households and businesses at the end of May, capping off a record first five months of installs in any year in the country’s history.

This second coming of Australia’s rooftop solar boom coincides with a period of broader energy market turmoil, in which retail electricity prices are being driven to record highs by soaring wholesale market prices, driven by a dysfunctional market.

The latest manifestation of this turmoil was a nearly 20 per cent hike in ACT retail electricity prices, announced by the Territory’s pricing regulator earlier this week.