I have gathered a number of notable points regarding the Solar Energy industry in Australia. Of particular interest are our technological achievements on a global level. We currently hold the Solar PV world record in converting sunlight to electricity, achieving an electricity conversion rate of more than 40%.
- Australia has the highest average solar radiation per square metre of any continent in the world. (Source: Australian Renewable Energy Agency)
- More than 15,000 businesses in Australia had a solar photovoltaic (pv) system installed by the end of 2014 (Australian Renewable Energy Agency 2014 Report)
- More than 2 million Australian households now have solar hot water systems or solar photovoltaic (PV) systems on their rooftop. Deployment of megawatt-scale solar electricity generation systems is still at an early stage of development in Australia (Australian Renewable Energy Agency)
- University of NSW has held the world record for solar cell efficiency for 30 of the last 32 years (Malcolm Turnbull, Climate Change Conference 2015)
- UNSW currently holds Solar PV world record in converting sunlight to electricity, achieving an electricity conversion rate of more than 40 per cent. (Ian Jacobs, UNSW’s Vice-Chancellor)
- By 2018 over 60 per cent of the world’s solar cells are to use technology developed by Australian researchers. (Malcolm Turnbull, Climate Change Conference 2015)
- More than 2 million Australian households now have solar hot water systems or solar photovoltaic (PV) systems on their rooftop. Deployment of megawatt-scale solar electricity generation systems is still at an early stage of development in Australia (Australian Renewable Energy Agency).
- In 2014, small-scale solar (up to 100kW) was responsible for 15.3 per cent of Australia’s clean energy generation and produced 2.1 per cent of the country’s total electricity. (Clean Energy Council)
Below is a link to a blog article about the Clean Energy Council’s 2014 Report, it expands on a number of interesting findings in regard to solar energy activity in 2014.