The International Energy Agency predicts that the economic fundamentals of residential and commercial rooftop solar energy in Australia are 'good', which will help the industry maintain stability in 2023. According to a previous report by the agency, the photovoltaic market contracted in 2022, when the country added 4 GW of solar installed capacity.
Although Australia still ranks in the top ten in terms of new photovoltaic installed capacity and total market volume, the latest report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) on the Photovoltaic Power Generation System Plan (PVPS) shows that the country's new photovoltaic installed capacity "fell back" last year. According to early estimates, last year's solar installed capacity was close to 4 GW, lower than 5 GW in 2021. The International Energy Agency's "2022 Annual Report on the Photovoltaic Market" provides a detailed introduction to the state of the Australian photovoltaic market. The report shows that Australia has installed a total of 297 GW of photovoltaic systems and at least 3.36 million rooftop solar systems.
The International Energy Agency stated that Australia remains in the top ten in terms of new installed capacity and total market capacity. Australia has an annual installed capacity of 3.9 GW, ranking 9th and a cumulative installed capacity ranking 6th.
Australia remains one of the top 10 countries in the world with the highest penetration rate of photovoltaic technology, ranking fifth with a ratio of 15.7%. The per capita solar installed capacity is 1166 watts, ranking first in the world. Following Australia closely is the Netherlands with a per capita photovoltaic installed capacity of 1040 watts, followed by Germany with a per capita photovoltaic installed capacity of 807 watts.
The report points out that although Australia's photovoltaic installed capacity remains strong, it slightly declined in 2022, a decrease of 1.1 GW compared to the 5 GW installed capacity in 2021.
The International Energy Agency attributed the decline in new installed capacity to supply chain issues and lagging investment, and stated that these issues are expected to be resolved by 2023. This indicates that the Australian market is paving the way for the promotion and increase of rooftop solar energy, especially the deployment of commercial photovoltaics.
Although the latest report from the International Energy Agency shows that the average price of residential solar photovoltaic systems after subsidies has increased to over AUD 1.10 per watt in 2022, and the average price without subsidies has increased to around AUD 1.55 per watt, the agency remains optimistic about the outlook. In 2021, the average price of residential systems after subsidies was less than AUD 1 per watt, while the average price without subsidies was approximately AUD 1.50 per watt.
The report also shows that by 2022, the average system size of markets below 100 kW will further increase, with each system having an average size of over 9 kW. The International Energy Agency stated that this trend "reflects the increase in commercial system installation and the increase in standard size of residential systems to prepare for the future increase in batteries and electric vehicles for households." Although the International Energy Agency is optimistic about the rooftop solar industry, But it also stated that the residential energy storage market is maintaining strong growth momentum, with over 19000 new batteries installed in small solar systems in 2022, and the total number of installed batteries will increase to over 60000 by the end of the year.
