In our first article on the stellar performance of solar in 2018, we took a look at the record-breaking year for the sub-100kW rooftop solar market Australia-wide. In this article we’ll have a look at how each state fared.
2018 was an incredible year in every state and territory of mainland Australia.
There has never been a sustained boom of this magnitude occurring concurrently in every major state. Previous booms were the result of subsidy reductions at a federal or state level, and these booms typically lasted three months before going bust.
Remember from our first article we mentioned these records and milestones:
- Record monthly volume in most states (WA December, NSW SA & VIC November)
- Record years for QLD, NSW, SA, VIC, WA, ACT, and NT (only TAS missed out)
- A cumulative >2 GW of STC systems installed in QLD
- A cumulative >1 GW of STC systems installed in each of NSW, VIC, and WA
The chart below illustrates the peak months for the major states – with SA, VIC, and NSW all setting new record monthly volumes in November 2018, and WA setting its record volume in December. Only Queensland didn’t eclipse its monthly record, set in 2012… but it was only 2% off doing so.
The other major standout from the chart above is Victoria’s drastic leap in October 2018, which grew by 50% in a single month and absolutely smashed its previous record (set just months earlier) – clearly the result of successful state government policy.
As mentioned before, 2018’s success didn’t rely upon the success of any individual state, but was instead the result of record volumes experienced in every state and territory other than Tasmania, as illustrated below.
This chart also reveals the magnitude of growth in New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia – each of which grew by more than 60% year-on-year – NSW to the point that it overtook Queensland in the STC market for the first time since 2010.
2019 looks almost certain to exceed the records set in 2018. Rooftop PV continues to offer an unbeatable financial return, solar farms in construction exceed the capacity built to date, and state government programs are ramping up.
Note: Warwick Johnston is director of indusdtry statistician Sunwiz, which has covered the pst year in detail in SunWiz’s 2018 Year in Review, which can be purchased for $1995 ex GST, which also includes a complimentary 3 month subscription to Insights, SunWiz’s flagship PV market intelligence subscription.
The topics covered in our Year in Review series are:
- 2018 – Australia’s record breaking year. In eyewatering charts
- 2018 – state roundup
- 2018’s Top Retailers
- 2018 – Trends in Commercial PV
- 2018 – residential revival
- 2018- Australia’s magnificent year for solar farms
Email [email protected] to order your copy of the 2018 Australian PV Year in Review for $1995 ex GST.
To boost the solar industry this year, SunWiz has kicked off 2019 by including free high-definition rooftop imagery in every PVsell account, and offering a stand-alone roof layout tool for those who don’t need to use PVsell’s impressive financial analysis and tailored customer proposals. Both of these continue SunWiz’s mission to assist businesses to sell more solar for greater profitability.
