Solar power installations 'on the rise'

The benefits of solar power are now firmly entrenched in the collective consciousness of the Aussie public, one industry expert has suggested.

Writing for Solar Australia, Nigel Morris of SolarBusinessServices said firms he comes across in his line of work are finding that more and more people are considering an energy switch.

Nigel is a director at his firm, which is a consultancy that provides research, industry analysis and business development ideas to companies working in the solar power sector.

He remarked: "I met installers who told me that they could feel the attitude of the mass market changing, describing how the economic proposition was so compelling that conversion rates were rising."

Having worked in solar energy for nearly 20 years, it would seem he knows his stuff and Nigel claims uptake figures are often underestimated in forecasted figures by a factor of ten.

"That's right, demand has been ten times higher than predicted," he explained. "Looking at solar PV alone, the uptake has been even higher at 11.7 times the annual demand than even the wildest optimists could imagine."

This is despite what Nigel describes as a lack of government support and misleading media representations of solar energy.

According to him, 40 GW of solar photovoltaic power across Australia by 2030 is not only achievable but a conservative estimate - only doubling demand data rather than multiplying it by ten.

And it seems the public are entirely behind a solar power drive, with a survey by 100% Renewable recently revealing that a staggering 94 per cent of Australians feel bigger is better when it comes to solar systems - making large-scale projects a popular option.

However, there are a number of factors that could cause problems for the burgeoning sector, Nigel said, including problems with the current regulatory environment and existing energy revenue streams feeling threatened.

Posted by Mike Peacock

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