Advocacy group Solar Citizens says small-scale solar installations in SA jumped 17.65 per cent from October – December compared to January – September last year.
The period followed the aftermath of the statewide blackout in September. While correlation doesn’t necessarily mean causation, it’s obvious South Australians think solar energy is heaps good*.
“With solar and storage becoming cheaper and more affordable every day it’s no surprise that ordinary South Australians have looked to clean energy while South Australia’s power has been in the headlines,” says Solar Citizens’ Dan Spencer.
Installations from July to December increased 21 per cent compared to the first six months of the year. From the beginning of July, 6,424 solar power systems were installed; taking South Australia’s tally to more than 205,000 installations across the state by the end of 2016.
Based on the average cost of a 5kW solar power system in South Australia, Solar Citizens estimates approximately $80.5 million was invested across the 2016 calendar year. This investment wasn’t primarily from the well-to-do suburbs says the group – it was the battlers sinking their hard-earned cash into taking more control over their energy requirements.
“The top five solar installation suburbs after the September blackout in 2016 all had 2013/14 average incomes below the state average according to the Australian Tax Office,” states Solar Citizens.
Overall, the top 5 suburbs for solar installations in South Australia are:
- Morphett Vale
- Aberfoyle Park
- Salisbury North
- Sheidow Park
- Smithfield Plains
Households in these suburbs have an average taxable income (2013/14) ranging between $42,297 and $50,243.
South Australia certainly has challenges to overcome in terms of energy security, but the state’s solar owners have proved to be lifters, not leaners, in helping address the issue.
The State’s Energy Minister, Tom Koutsantonis, said that if it wasn’t for wind and solar energy, blackouts would have occurred last Friday after an incident took more than 600MW of generation offline.
Interest in solar and battery systems may peak again after the announcement yesterday of the imminent arrival of Tesla Powerwall 2 in Australia, which offers backup and off-grid functionality. Also recently announced was the immediate availability of Sonnen Protect; an add-on unit for Sonnen battery systems that enables automatic backup power in the event of a blackout for a range of appliances.
*For non-South Aussies and overseas readers, ”Heaps Good” is a slang term in SA and the slogan for a campaign promoting SA.
