The Clean Energy Regulator says a record 7.0 gigawatts (GW) of new renewable capacity was installed across Australia’s rooftops last year.
Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction, Angus Taylor said this was 11 per cent higher than the previous record set in 2019, which was 6.3 GW.
Mr Taylor said a solar installation boom drove the new record, despite COVID-19 restrictions impacting rooftop solar installation rates for part of the year.
“Already, one in four Australian homes have solar — the highest uptake of household solar in the world,” Mr Taylor said.
“Over the last quarter of 2020, the share of renewables in the National Electricity Market exceeded 30 per cent, another first.”
He said strong investment in renewables was forecast to continue and Australia was projected to deploy an additional 24GW of rooftop solar by 2030, tripling the nation’s small-scale solar generating capacity over the decade.
“In 2019, Australia deployed new renewable capacity at least 10 times faster per person than the global average and four times faster per person than China, Europe or the United States,” the Minister said.
“In 2020, Australia invested $7.7 billion, or $299 per person, in renewable energy.
“This places us ahead of countries like Canada, Germany, Japan, Korea, New Zealand and the United States on a per-person basis.”
Mr Taylor noted that Australia, with 804 watts per person, also had the highest combined wind and solar capacity of any country outside Europe.