Victoria has hit a renewable energy milestone, with over 1GW of energy capacity coming from solar panels installed through the Solar Homes Program, which equates to 3 million panels powering 165,000 homes in the state.
The milestone follows the Victorian Government’s $1.3 billion investment in the Solar Homes Program.
In some parts of Victoria, installations under the program have increased levels of household solar by more than 70 per cent.
Victorian Minister for Solar Homes, Lily D’Ambrosio, said, “The impact of this program is clear – with Victorians continuing to embrace the opportunity to be part of the energy revolution.
“With summer just around the corner, now is a great time to join the more than 180,000 households and small businesses who have applied for $340 million in rebates since the Solar Homes Program began in 2018.
“People will save on energy bills but will also be playing a key role in Victoria’s transition to a clean energy economy.”
The program is making a vital contribution to the state’s ambitious target of halving emissions by 2030, and has created 5000 jobs.
In Metropolitan Melbourne, the top five suburbs with panels installed via the program are Tarneit, Craigieburn, Clyde North, Point Cook and Truganina, whilst in the regions, Mildura and Shepparton are closely followed by Wodonga, Wangaratta and Wallan in the top five.
More than 40 per cent of homes in Tarneit and Truganina have solar panels – both through Solar Homes and through other providers. In Wangaratta, almost half the homes have solar, while Shepparton and Wodonga also come close with nearly 45 per cent of homes having installed solar.
Overall, the Solar Homes Program has increased the percentage of homes with solar from 14 per cent to 22 per cent.
According to Solar Victoria’s Voice of the Customer survey, 71 per cent of respondents said they would not have installed solar if it weren’t for the program’s rebate, which was introduced in 2018.
Recent data also shows more customers are choosing larger systems – over the past two months, the average installed system size has been just over 7kW, up from 5.7kW when the program first started.
