A new study is showing that the Australian solar PV market could reach as much as 10 gigawatts of capacity by 2017, a pretty significant increase from the current 2.5GW in just 4 years.
The more interesting part of the research conducted by market analysts Sunwiz and Solar Business Services is that it looks as if parts of Australia could reach “saturation†in the residential solar market. Some areas are running on 20-35% solar, and the report sees 50-75% to be “entirely probable.†Overall, the average penetration level of the owner-occupied sector is currently around 10%, and the more difficult portion of the residential sector to grab will likely be the rental market and homes in “difficult†locations.
“The entire electricity market is at the cusp of a radical evolution which will change the fundamental dynamics of energy generation, ownership, profit structure, competition and pricing – and the role of solar is highly significant,†the authors said in the report. “This issue could be a major stumbling block – or opportunity – for our market, echoing International trends and issues.â€
This is all comparable with the market predictions for other countries, which are experiencing a similar situation as Australia in regard to winding back tariffs. The good news is that clean energy markets are starting to thrive without tariffs, paving the path to a much more sustainable industry (in more ways than one).
Another report by NPD SolarBuzz says that Australia, Japan, Italy, Germany, and the UK will account for ¾ of the world’s residential PV installations in 2013. We’ll take it!
Image CC licensed by Andreas Demmelbauer
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