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What does 3GW of PV look like? Almost 10% of NEM demand. Subscribe for a free special-edition Insights mini-series
Australia - a Sunblessed Country
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Australia Reaches 3GW of
Solar Power Installations

It seems wherever you look, you see a solar power system. Well at least it does to me, but then again I work in the solar industry, so I take particular notice. But it’s no surprise, for this week Australian solar power installations reached 3GW in total, a milestone as note-worthy as the one-million solar power system that was installed in April (a number that has since risen to 1.2M). Around Australia, solar power is making its impact felt, through reduced electricity bills for solar owners and lower wholesale electricity prices for everyone. And to celebrate, SunWiz is releasing a complimentary special-edition of its market-leading Insights subscription next week– how to gain access: visit our special sign-up form.
 
3GW of solar power is actively reshaping Australia’s electricity market. Queensland represents one-third of Australia's total solar capacity, its 1000MW of solar power making the “people’s power station” the fourth largest power station in the state. The 450MW of solar power in SA is equivalently the third largest power station in the state, and is sniffing at the heels of the 520MW of generation at the state’s largest power station. Nationwide, 14% of dwellings host solar power systems; one of four dwellings in South Australia are smart enough to have bought solar power systems. And all this solar is making its impact felt, as revealed by another pending solar milestone.
 
State #systems Capacity
(MW)		 Proportion of dwellings
with Solar Power
ACT 14,000 38 10%
NSW 252,000 633 10%
NT 3,000 11 4%
QLD 360,000 986 22%
SA 160,000 450 25%
TAS 18,000 55 9%
VIC 201,000 532 10%
WA 149,000 334 18%
 National  1,157,000 3,039 14%

Analysis performed by SunWiz reveals that at midday on Sunday 29th of September, solar power contributed to 9.3% of electricity demand in the National Electricity Market. Midday production of from the ~2.4GW of solar power registered on the NEM at the time of analysis produced 1,700 MW of simultaneous output, against NEM consumption of 18,100 MW. Because registration of systems lags behind installations, the actual contribution on September 29 is likely to have been even higher than stated. At this point solar power’s contribution to South Australia was even greater – providing 28% of South Australia’s midday power requirement. Over the winter months, solar power contributed to 1.4% of total power consumption in the National Electricity Market, reaching a daily peak of 2.75% of energy NEM-wide production on September’s “Solar Sunday”.

 
And despite a three-fold contraction from peak installation levels 180MW/month installed in June 2012, the Australian solar power industry is currently enjoying the stability it long wished for. More challenging is the industry’s recently poor profitability that owes itself largely to extreme competitiveness brought about by the number of industry players that have stuck around since solar’s heyday in mid -2012. The consumer is getting a bargain, and using the low prices to up-size their system to now average 4.3kW in capacity, and the most popular system size has leaped from 1.5kW to 3kW or 5kW depending on which state you live in. Another clear trend is that businesses are purchasing solar power – 5% of recently installed systems exceed 8kW in size. This information changes regularly, meaning a monthly Insights release helps subscribers to stay abreast of trends as they emerge.



With so many solar power systems installed in Australia, it's little wonder that I see solar panels everywhere. As I was about to take my first skydive last week, the person I had entrusted my life to asked what my line of work was. After disclosing that I work in the solar industry, I commented that the skydive centre should certainly buy a solar power system. Minutes later, hurtling towards the earth, I had to chuckle to myself - for even when faced with my own mortality somehow my mind registered that there was indeed already solar panels on the skydiving roof. And at this rate, I'm guessing that it won't be long before Australia's first solar farms are visible from space.

To celebrate that the solar industry has survived its earlier freefall and lives to continually reach new milestones, SunWiz is releasing a free mini-series of Insights drawn from its market leading monthly publication (for which subscribers pay $275/month or more). This will be bonanza of market information, expanding upon today's topics and also covering pricing, large-scale systems, market share, and SunWiz exclusive content. But to get this free Insights mini-series, you'll have to subscribe to a dedicated Insights mailing list by subscribing here (even if you receive SunWiz's regular mailout).

What do market leading industry participants have in common? They subscribe to Insights - and from across the spectrum. Each month our regular update on installed capacity, system size distribution, pricing, imports, market share, large-scale systems, special features and essential news stories reaches the desks of PV manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, installers, and even the government. Insights helps PV businesses make informed decisions and outsmart their competitors. Subscribe from as little as $275/month at http://www.sunwiz.com.au/index.php/australian-pv-market-data-insights.html


Market Synopsis

PV Market

  • 75MW of PV was registered in October, and similar figures in November.
  • SA overtook Queensland to be November's biggest installation location.
  • Average System Sizes are 4.8kW in SA, but far smaller at 3.4kW in WA
Want more information? Subscribe to Insights

STC Market

  • Seven large STC creators still hold 100% of the STCs they've ever created, but much of it is sitting outside of the Clearing House
  • Most of the trading that is taking place in the market is of much-traded STCs - those that have been traded 7 times or more.
  • Origin now creates less than 10,000 STCs per week, where once it exceeded 250,000
  • The weekly and monthly STC creation tally are displayed on our website - check in regularly.
Want more information? Subscribe to ClearView 

Solar Hot Spots

  • Most upturn in the market is focussed on SA, though most installation levels are below earlier peaks.
  • Hilton SA had two successive record quarters; Lonsdale also set records (off the back of some commercial installations it seems)
  • Rosewater and Emu Flat also set records
Want more information?  Subscribe to Solar Hot Spots

PVsell News 

We had a major release recently that included:
  • PDF Creation & Emailing from within PVsell
  • New graphs & improvement on existing graphs
  • New graphs on the load profile visualiser
  • New pricing entry method
  • Easy Downloading Datasheets as CSV
  • Projects Modified Date & Time
  • Performance Adjustment by Location
Want to be sell more commercial? Subscribe to PVsell. 

SunWiz Activities

In the last months, SunWiz has:
  • Developed a custom version of PVsell for an innovative solar offer
  • Been re-elected as the Chair of the Domestic PV Directorate of the Clean Energy Council
  • Assisted with multiple grid connect applications
  • Performed ROI calculations on PVsell for customers
  • Fallen out of a plane (and survived)

To learn more about what we can do for your solar business, visit www.sunwiz.com.au


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