The IEA PV Power Systems (PVPS) Trends Report update, due for release this week, will show that Australia has slipped out of the top ten countries for new solar installations for the first time since PVPS started tracking market dynamics in 1992.
The PV in Australia report for 2023, released earlier this year, recorded only 4.2 GW additional connections in 2023. Despite this drop in annual installs, with 34.6 GW total at the end of 2023, Australia remains in the top ten markets in the world for total installed capacity and retains a world-leading position in solar per capita at 1.3kW/person, followed closely by The Netherlands.
Renate Egan, representing Australia on the PVPS Executive Committee, said “At 4.2 GW the Australian market is stable, but the rest of the world is growing so we’re falling behind. Rooftop solar, particularly industrial scale, is growing.
“It’s utility scale solar that has stalled and we’re going to need to see significant growth to meet our net zero ambitions. Fortunately, new state and federal government initiatives are set to address this.
For the second year running, utility scale solar installations have seen a decline to only 1GW in 2023, the lowest install rate in five years after a high of 2.4GW in 2018 and 2019.
The full media release, including graphics, is available here