Western Australia has seen a 600 per cent rise in rooftop solar energy generation over the last ten years, with output exceeding that of the state’s largest power station.
Western Australian households are embracing renewable energy technology at record rates with 3,000 homes installing rooftop solar panels each month.
In 2021, Western Australian households added 191MW of generation capacity to their rooftops, bringing the total amount of residential solar capacity in the South West Interconnected System to 1,362MW.
Western Australian Energy Minister, Bill Johnston, said, “Over the past ten years, rooftop solar has increased by over 600 per cent, with 50 per cent of Western Australian households expected to have solar panels by 2030.
“These rapid changes to the energy landscape have presented a range of challenges and opportunities, which we are addressing to ensure electricity remains affordable and reliable.”
More than 400,000 homes and businesses, around 36 per cent of customers, now have rooftop solar connected to the state’s main grid.
The collective capacity of residential solar generation exceeds the gross output capacity of Western Australia’s largest power station — Synergy’s 854MW Muja Power Station.
This unmanaged energy presents challenges on mild sunny days when rooftop solar generation is high and demand from the system is low.
To enable the continued uptake of rooftop solar panels on homes and avoid blackouts, the Western Australian Government has introduced a range of policies, products and initiatives.
This includes the new Emergency Solar Management rules which start on February 14, Western Australia’s biggest battery in Kwinana, community battery storage trials and virtual power plants.
Western Australian Climate Action Minister, Reece Whitby, said, “It is clear we need to change some of our practices to preserve our environment and climate, and the incredible uptake of rooftop solar over the past decade shows the commitment of Western Australians to choosing greener forms of energy.
“Continuing to embrace innovative ways of powering our homes and industries is critical to the state reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050.”
For more information, visit https://www.brighterenergyfuture.wa.gov.au.
