Rapid solar expansion in WA

Western Australia’s solar uptake has grown over 600% since 2011, with residential solar output now exceeding the state’s largest power station.

Households are embracing renewable energy technology at record rates, with 3000 homes now installing rooftop solar panels each month.

Last year, WA households added 191 megawatts (MW) of generation capacity to their rooftops, bringing the total amount of residential solar capacity in the South West Interconnected System to 1362 MW.

More than 400,000 WA homes and businesses — around 36% of customers — now have rooftop solar connected to WA’s main grid.

The collective capacity of residential solar generation exceeds the gross output capacity of WA’s largest power station — Synergy’s 854 MW Muja Power Station.

This unmanaged energy presents challenges on mild sunny days when rooftop solar generation is high and demand from the system is low.

To enable the continued uptake of rooftop solar panels on WA homes and avoid blackouts, the government has introduced a range of policies, products and initiatives.

These include the new Emergency Solar Management rules which start on 14 February, community battery storage trials, virtual power plants and WA’s biggest battery in Kwinana.

“Over the past 10 years rooftop solar has increased by over 600%, with 50% of WA households expected to have solar panels by 2030,” Energy Minister Bill Johnston said.

“These rapid changes to the energy landscape have presented a range of challenges and opportunities, which we are addressing to ensure electricity remains affordable and reliable.

“The McGowan government continues to support the uptake of residential solar, batteries and electric vehicles, and is committed to net zero carbon emissions by 2050.”

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