Sport Quest NewsMoretonHyperlocal More than 750,000 Queensland households and businesses have rooftop solar, according to the Clean Energy Regulator
Dr Christa Pudmenzky discusses Australia’s rooftop solar installations. How does Australia compare with the rest of the world?
Despite the cloudy forecast, Queensland truly is the sunshine state – and we’re taking advantage of it to power our communities.
More than 750,000 Queensland households and businesses have rooftop solar, according to data from the Clean Energy Regulator.
More than 81,000 Queenslanders installed rooftop solar panels in 2020.
Six of Australia’s top ten solar postcodes – meaning most houses with installed solar – are in Queensland, including Caloundra in ninth spot.
Voices from your community
Pensioner and Manly West resident Keith Brown, installed panels on his home 10 years ago.
“We wanted to get away from having to pay bills every quarter,” he said.
“We use our air conditioner more often in summer, fortunately we have the solar panels – which keeps the cost down.”
Keith also noticed that temperatures were warmer than when he moved to Manly West.
“It is very noticeable that our winters are milder than before, and we are getting some very hot days during summer,” he said.
Community voices like Keith’s tell us how residents and business owners in Greater Brisbane feel about their local climate. If you would like to contribute your voice to our column, you can fill out our 5-minute survey here.
Did you know?
Not all rooftops are suitable for solar panels – it can depend on the age and size of the rooftop, what it’s made of and how much sunlight it receives.
Of the Queensland rooftops suitable for solar, 40 per cent of households already have them, well above the national average of 15 per cent.
Australian homes have more rooftop solar than any other country, according to University of New South Wales researchers.
Want more information on how your climate is changing? Check out last week’s article here.
Dr Christa Pudmenzky is a climate scientist at the University of Southern Queensland.
This column is part of a collaboration between the Monash Climate Change Communication Research Hub and News Corp to deliver hyperlocal weather and climate information
Source: couriermail
