More than 2 million Australian homes now have small scale renewable energy systems. The Clean Energy Regulator has welcomed 2014 with news confirming Australia has now installed more than two million small-scale renewable energy systems, under the Renewable Energy Target.
This news comes only eight months after reaching one million rooftop solar installations, providing a strong indication that investment in small-scale renewable energy continues to flourish in Australia. Assisted by falling system costs coupled with financial incentives derived from the Renewable Energy Target, small-scale systems have become more and more affordable for everyday Australians.
The Clean Energy Regulator estimates the two million small-scale installations have a capacity to generate or displace approximately 6,882 gigawatt hours of electricity annually, with 4,182 gigawatt hours generated from small-scale solar, wind and hydro installations and a further 2,700 gigawatt hours displaced by solar hot water systems and air source heat pumps.
This equates to the amount of electricity required to power approximately 1.04 million Australian homes for a year. This is enough to power all Perth, Hobart, Darwin and Canberra households combined.