This post was originally published on Sustainability Matters
Australia’s 2024 solar installations will prevent approximately 4.23 million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually — equivalent to removing 760,000 cars from the road. This striking environmental benefit, calculated by Solar Nerds’ sustainability research team in their environmental impact analysis of Australia’s solar sector, demonstrates how distributed solar generation is delivering meaningful climate progress despite ongoing policy uncertainty. The report quantifies Australia’s sustainability progress through detailed installation metrics, geographical analysis, system size distribution, and insights from a nationwide survey of solar professionals.
The report presents comprehensive data on Australia’s solar deployment, with detailed rankings of the top 10 installers by kilowatt capacity. When viewed through a sustainability lens, these installation volumes represent significant carbon reduction achievements contributing to emissions reduction targets tracked by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.
The analysis shows that 2024’s total solar installations of 3,222,311 kilowatts will avoid approximately 4.23 million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually, equivalent to removing 760,000 cars from Australia’s roads. The data reveals that residential installations (0–15 kW) contributed 77% of these environmental benefits, highlighting the crucial role of household-level sustainability actions in national environmental progress.
A breakdown of installations by system size categories (0–15 kW, 15–40 kW, and 40+ kW) illustrates how different sectors — from residential to commercial and industrial — are contributing to Australia’s overall sustainability goals. This segmentation helps environmental managers understand which market sectors are driving the most significant carbon reductions.
The data highlights that NSW achieved the highest solar adoption with 32% of the national total, resulting in approximately 1.03 million tonnes of avoided CO2 emissions. NT recorded the most substantial year-over-year growth at 16.49%, accelerating its environmental progress.
Detailed state-level analyses provide insights into how sustainability progress varies across Australia. This regional breakdown helps sustainability professionals understand geographical variations in carbon reduction progress and identify areas where additional initiatives may be needed.
The report features 12-month historical data presented through intuitive bar charts, allowing environmental managers to track installation volumes — and, by extension, carbon reduction — over time. This temporal analysis is complemented by quarter-over-quarter comparisons that indicate whether sustainability progress is accelerating or slowing.
Imraan Thanawalla, Managing Director of Solaris Finance (owner of Solar Nerds), notes, “Our temporal analysis reveals important patterns in Australia’s decarbonization journey.” Understanding these patterns helps sustainability professionals assess progress towards corporate and governmental climate goals.
For sustainability professionals focused on specific environmental goals, the report offers dedicated analysis of different system size categories:
- 0–15 kW systems: Primarily residential installations.
- 15–40 kW systems: Small commercial installations.
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40–kW systems: Larger commercial and industrial installations.
These segmented analyses help environmental managers understand which system scales are delivering the most substantial sustainability benefits, aligning with findings from Climate Works Australia’s Decarbonisation Futures report. For organizations considering solar adoption, understanding what size solar system would best meet their sustainability goals is a crucial planning consideration.
The report’s postcode analysis identifies Australia’s environmental leadership zones, with rankings of the top-performing postcodes both nationally (top 10) and by state (top 5). Year-over-year growth figures highlight emerging centres of sustainability adoption, providing valuable intelligence for environmental planners and policy advocates.
This geographical data helps sustainability professionals identify high-performing regions and understand localized adoption patterns. For environmental managers, the postcode data provides benchmarking opportunities and insights into community-level sustainability progress.
Australia’s sustainability leaders by postcode and growth rate
Drawing from the industry survey, the report provides insights into which sustainable technologies are gaining market traction:
- Leading inverter technologies and their efficiency characteristics
- Preferred solar panel manufacturers and their sustainability credentials
- Battery storage systems supporting greater renewable energy utilization
These technology preferences help sustainability professionals understand how the technical aspects of how solar systems work are evolving to deliver greater environmental benefits.
The report examines how renewable energy projects are being financed, analysing the balance between capital expenditure and various financing approaches. This information is particularly valuable for sustainability professionals seeking to understand how financial models are supporting or hindering environmental progress.
Thanawalla also mentioned, “Financial accessibility remains a key enabler of corporate sustainability initiatives.” These insights help environmental managers develop appropriate business cases for solar adoption, with clear understanding of available project funding options to support sustainability goals.
The report includes analysis of how incentive mechanisms like Small-scale Technology Certificates (STCs) are supporting Australia’s sustainability transition. Rankings of top STC traders by volume and market share provide context for understanding how effectively these policy instruments are driving environmental outcomes, which is regularly assessed by the Grattan Institute in their energy transition analyses.
The industry survey provides insights into the installation methodologies and operational approaches that installers use. This information helps sustainability professionals understand how installation processes are being optimised to reduce waste and improve system performance.
These operational insights are particularly valuable for organizations developing sustainable procurement guidelines or evaluating potential solar partners based on their environmental practices.
The 2024 Yearly Report features an awards section recognizing sustainability excellence across various categories. These awards highlight exemplary companies that are setting benchmarks for environmental performance in the Australian solar market.
The 2024 Yearly Solar Installation Report provides environmental managers and sustainability professionals with comprehensive, data-driven insights into Australia’s solar market and its environmental impact. The detailed installation metrics, regional analyses, and industry perspectives collectively document the nation’s progress toward a more sustainable energy system.
For organizations seeking deeper insights into sustainability performance, system economics, and technical specifications, Solar Nerds also provides extensive educational resources on various aspects of solar technology and environmental impact.
Top image: Snapshot of Australia’s solar deployment in 2024.
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