The word 'exponential' means more than reeeally fast growth. It means growth that's so fast, it's multiplying at a constant rate over time.
The world's solar capacity is doubling every three years. That's exponential growth.
In Australia, rooftop solar installations* hit 3.85 million in June. You can access the monthly data easily here and use the geolocation dropdown in the top-right corner to drill into your state or territory.
As I mentioned last week, we've added solar installations by postcode to OnlyFacts and ranked them by population.
Here are the communities leading and losing the solar race.
Australia's Top and Bottom 10
The charts below show the number of rooftop solar units installed for every 10,000 residents.*
The postcodes with the most solar panels are mainly in South Australia and rural areas
The postcodes with the least solar panels are mainly in NSW and Victoria, and inner metropolitan areas
Is there a bias towards areas with small populations? Perhaps, although we've excluded postcodes with fewer than 500 residents.
The real split is between metro, regional and rural areas.
High-density, urban areas generally have far fewer solar units per capita. They also have fewer roofs and homeowners who benefit directly from cheaper power bills.
State by State
Let's take a tour around the country.
See the ripple of colour from dark to light as solar penetration grows, the differences between states and territories, and the communities that buck the trend.
You can explore this data at OnlyFacts in list form. There's a full list nationally, or you can also use the geolocation dropdown in the top-right corner to view by state. Click on your postcode to easily access the full data history.
Next time
Things get more interesting when you compare apples with apples.
In the coming weeks, we'll look for patterns and outliers based on other characteristics. We'll also review longitudinal trends versus state policies. As always, our readers have the best ideas, so let us know what we should look for.
And a big thank you for the feedback on the postcode data on the website. We've already implemented most of it. Interactive maps are on the slate!
Data notes
- ‘Small’ means under 100kW in capacity
- 1 x unit = entire rooftop solar system installed at a home or business
- Area classifications such as rural and inner metropolitan are based on federal electorate classifications via Matthew Proctor
Credits
- Data sources: Clean Energy Regulator, ABS
- We’re grateful to Matthew Proctor for maintaining a community sourced comprehensive database of Australian postcodes on Github
- Climate data briefing by Juliette O’Brien OAM (Words and Data), James Wagner (Data), and Anthony Macali OAM (Data)