The solar bonus scheme introduced last year was very successful in some suburbs, with more than 14 per cent of homes installing rooftop solar panels, compared with a statewide average of about 3 per cent.
Figures provided to the Herald by three electricity distributors revealed the north coast had the highest number of solar schemes. In Dubbo, more than 2000 homes had also installed photovoltaic units.
Paul Myors, an energy efficiency specialist with Ausgrid, said the number of homes with solar panels had increased over 18 months from 2,000 to 46,000.
Last November, the former government cut the feed-in tariff from 60 cents per kilowatt hour to 20 cents for new customers. In June, the O’Farrell government backed down from a plan to also slash tariffs for the original customers.
Peak take-up rates are around the central coast and Lake Macquarie, where about 6 per cent of homes in many suburbs have rooftop systems.
Customers of Essential Energy, which supplies power to many country areas, installed more than 2200 systems in the post code covering Lismore and surrounding towns.
Data from the last census in 2006 said there were 18,500 dwellings in the Lismore postcode, which gives a rooftop solar system rate of more than 12 per cent. In the Tweed Heads postcode, the rate is more than 14 per cent, while Dubbo has a rate exceeding 13 per cent, rates that Mr Myors described as ”extraordinary”.
Some of the high installation rates in certain towns are believed to be a result of intensive marketing campaigns conducted by solar panel companies.
The high percentage of detached homes with good solar access in some rural and regional areas was another factor behind the wide variations.
The chief executive of Strata Community Australia, Mark Lever, said more than 70 per cent of residents in many Sydney local government areas live in apartments, as do more than 50 per cent in North Sydney.
He said while many of them wanted to install solar panels, the federal and state governments had not considered their needs while designing rebate schemes, leaving regulatory hurdles to be cleared.
”Body corporates are not eligible for federal renewable energy certificates, and then they have to deal with the fact the Tax Office regards any income to the body corporate from solar schemes as mutual income that is taxable in the hands of individual owners,” Mr Lever said.
Ausgrid has started publishing details of solar installations and other data on its website to allow councils, consumers and other interested parties to compare electricity consumption trends.
Mr Myors said the data showed that while electricity usage increased every year from the 1950s, it plateaued four years ago and had been declining by about 2 per cent a year since then due to increased energy prices, improved energy efficiency in houses - thanks in part to the home insulation scheme - and more efficient appliances. However, peak demand was still increasing, especially on hot days.
In 10 years, the percentage of houses with air-conditioning in NSW had increased from 30 per cent to 70 per cent, placing additional pressure on the system, he said.
