Australia has installed its one millionth solar power system, according to the Clean Energy Council.
Now, over two million Australians are getting their power from solar energy, and are collectively saving approximately half a billion dollars a year on electricity bills because of it.
"It is remarkable when you think that just five years ago in 2008 there were only about 20,000 systems installed across the entire country," said chief executive of the Clean Energy Council, David Green, of the recently achieved million mark.
"For some years solar has been most enthusiastically embraced by those in mortgage-belt suburbs, retirement areas and regional parts of the country. People from all walks of life have been installing solar as a way of protecting themselves from power price pain over the long term."
Mr Green commented that the solar industry currently provides jobs for over 8,000 Australians, also leading to billions of dollars in investment thanks to Australia's Renewable Energy Target.
As well as being a clean and renewable form of energy better for the environment, solar power also has the benefit of being cheaper, as well as helping the electricity network cope with periods of high demand.
According to Geoscience Australia, Australia has the highest solar radiation per square metre of any continent, making it one of the best solar energy resources in the world.
Desert regions have the best concentration of solar energy, such as central and northwest Australia.
While reaching one million solar panel systems installed nationwide is a large breakthrough, Australia receives approximately 58 million PJ of solar radiation per year and only uses a small fraction of this – so there is still great scope for improvement.
Posted by Mike Peacock