<
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/01/how-generous-subsidies-helped-australia-to-become-a-leader-in-solar-power>
"For a brief period over several weekends this spring, the state of South
Australia, which has a population of 1.8 million, did something no other place
of a similar size can claim: generate enough energy from solar panels on the
roofs of houses to meet virtually all its electricity needs.
This is a new phenomenon, but it has been coming for a while – since solar
photovoltaic cells started to be installed at a rapid pace across Australia in
the early 2010s. Roughly one in three Australian households, more than 3.6m
homes, now generate electricity domestically. In South Australia, the most
advanced state for rooftop solar, the proportion is nearly 50%.
No other country comes close at installing small solar systems on a per capita
basis. “It’s absolutely extraordinary by world standards,” said Dr Dylan
McConnell, an energy systems analyst at the University of New South Wales.
“We’re streets ahead.”
There was no overarching plan that made Australia the world leader in household
solar PV. Analysts mostly agreed that it was a happy accident, the result of a
range of uncoordinated policies across tiers of government. Many were subsidy
schemes that were derided as too generous and gradually scaled back, but the
most important – an easy-to-access, upfront national rebate available to
everyone – endured. It has helped make panels cost-effective and easy to
install."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
