{"id":55320,"date":"2021-10-27T06:24:44","date_gmt":"2021-10-26T19:54:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=55320"},"modified":"2024-07-31T10:55:11","modified_gmt":"2024-07-31T01:25:11","slug":"solar-cost-kwh-australia-mb2210","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-cost-kwh-australia-mb2210\/","title":{"rendered":"Home Solar Power In Australia – Cost Per Kilowatt-Hour"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Small<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s goal for large-scale solar energy generation costs in Australia had me wondering – what does solar electricity cost per kilowatt hour from a small-scale PV system?<\/p>\n

As part of doing things The Australian Way1<\/a><\/sup> and not being “lectured by others who do not understand Australia,” PM Morrison outlined his plan for Australia to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050<\/a> yesterday. This was met with some cynicism<\/a> (go figure).<\/span><\/p>\n

But among the items the PM mentioned was this:<\/span><\/p>\n

“<\/span>we have set a stretch goal of solar electricity generation at $15 per megawatt hour (MWh)”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That would be wholesale – which makes up a bit over a quarter of electricity bills currently.<\/p>\n

The CSIRO\u2019s most recent GenCost report<\/a> pegged the levelised cost2<\/a><\/sup> of new solar in Australia somewhere between $50 to $55 per MWh wholesale last year, with that to drop to mid-40’s to low 50’s in 2030.<\/p>\n

$15\/MWh works out to 1.5c per kilowatt hour for large scale solar energy generation. Is that possible? Likely, as there have already been deals struck in some parts of the world where solar electricity is\/will be sold for just a couple of cents per kilowatt hour.<\/p>\n

Rooftop Solar Energy Generation Costs<\/h2>\n

The mention got me thinking about what it costs to generate a kilowatt-hour from a residential\u00a0 rooftop solar power system these days. I began by using the SolarQuotes solar calculator<\/a>. I didn’t need all the useful figures it spits out, just some system generation figures.<\/p>\n

For a rooftop 6.6kW solar power system<\/a> installed in Sydney, total generation is around 9,783 kWh in the first year. I then used SQ’s Australian Solar Price Index<\/a> for New South Wales<\/a>, which indicated a 6.6kW solar system installed in NSW cost around $6,6003<\/a><\/sup> last month, after the national subsidy.<\/p>\n

Good quality solar panels<\/a> should last decades, as should the mounting system. Good quality solar inverters<\/a>, being the real workhorse of a system, should provide at least 10 years of service.<\/p>\n

10-Year Calculation<\/h2>\n

Let’s start off with a cost per kilowatt-hour based on just ten years.<\/p>\n

Something that needs to be added is the cost of system inspections and there are some misconceptions about solar system inspection frequency<\/a>. According to SolarQuotes founder Finn Peacock, a good quality well-installed system should be inspected and tested by a Clean Energy Council accredited professional every 5 years. This costs approximately $200 \u2013 $300.<\/p>\n

While in this example the second inspection would be due at the end of the 10-year period, we’ll add two on at the cheaper end of the range for a total system cost of $7,000<\/p>\n

So:<\/p>\n