Mapping Australian Photovoltaic installations

These maps are based on data from the Clean Energy Regulator, the Australian Government agency tasked with the administration of the Renewable Energy Target. Data from the Clean Energy Regulator is up to date as of 31 March 2024, however the number of systems installed may be understated due to the lag in system registrations.

For each postcode, local government area, and state electorate, the map shows the estimated percentage of houses that have a PV system and the total photovoltaic capacity installed.

Most of the PV systems in Australia are small-scale residential, and increasingly, commercial rooftop installations, which can be explored further via the PV Postcode Tool. There are also a growing number of larger-scale PV power stations with a capacity of 100kW or more. These power stations are indicated by individual markers on this map, and are detailed on the Large-Scale PV Systems page. Live performance data is available for systems in the Desert Knowledge Precinct in Alice Springs, and at the University of Queensland.

Australian PV Institute

      This map was created by correlating data from a number of sources:

      • Data from the Clean Energy Regulator, including the Small-scale Generation Unit (SGU) database of solar PV systems with a rated capacity of less than 100 kW. The dataset includes accredited solar photovoltaic (PV) systems installed since April 2001. As such, it includes most, but not all, of the rooftop solar PV systems in Australia. However, it does not account for systems that have been decommissioned.
      • Solar PV generators that are registered under the Large-scale Renewable Energy Target (LRET) and are greater than 100 kW rated capacity. Decommissioned systems have been removed from this dataset.
      • Postal Area (POA), Local Government Area (LGA) and State Electoral Division (SED) boundary data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, SA Government (2018 SED boundaries) and PSMA
      • Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics for the number of suitable (freestanding and semi-detached) houses in each postcode is used. The data is based on the Census 2021, adjusted quarterly by assuming that the house growth rate since the 2021 Census is equal to that seen in the area between the most recent 2016 and 2021 censuses
      • The PV potential on all roof types was calculated for this report, based on estimated building footprints derived from the PSMA Geoscape database. A more detailed description of the method can be accessed here.

      Since Clean Energy Regulator data does not distinguish between PV systems installed on residential and commercial buildings, for the purposes of this map, we must assume a size threshold for residential systems.

    • Before 2018, all PV systems installed below 10kW were classified as residential, and those greater than or equal to 10kW were classified as 'commercial' PV systems. Power stations were any system above 100kW.
    • To account for an increase in the size of residential systems, the threshold for residential/commercial systems was incrementally raised to 15kW. In 2018, systems below 11kW were classified as residential. In 2019, systems below 12kW were classified as residential, and so on, until 2022, when systems below 15kW were classified as residential.
    • After 2022, all systems below 15kW are residential, and those greater than or equal to 15kW are classified as commercial PV systems. Power stations are any system above 100kW.

      • The percentage of houses with a PV system shown on the map is estimated by comparing the total number of freestanding and semi-detached houses with the number of residential PV systems installed in each area.

      * Where the percentage of houses with a PV system is over 90%, likely due to significant changes to postcode boundaries over time, we do not report the percentage of houses with a PV system. When negative rate of change in houses causes a negative number of houses or over 70% of houses with a PV system in the area, we disregard the rate of change and use the number of houses from the 2021 census without adjusting for decline.

      PV installation data, aggregated monthly for each postcode, is made available for public download by the Clean Energy Regulator.

      Download data:Postcode|LGA|State electorate

      Compare the Status of States and Territories

      Percentage of houses with a PV system by State/Territory

      Australian PV Institute

      Installed PV generation capacity by State/Territory

      Australian PV Institute
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