Australia's top 10 solar-friendly postcodes revealed

Australia’s 10 most solar-friendly postcodes have been revealed, with dramatic bird’s-eye photography capturing how much has changed in those areas since the turn of the century. 

The Sunshine State lived up to its moniker; Queensland took seven of the 10 spots on the list and WA claimed the remaining three places.

The Clean Energy Regulator’s data showed postcode 4670, Bundaberg North  topped the list with 11,756 homes installed with solar units in the last 18 years.

This was closely followed by Mandurah, south of Perth, with 11,409 units installed. Then Hervey Bay in Queensland took out the third spot with 11,409 solar rooftops installed.

The before and after shots come from aerial imaging company Nearmap, which has documented the change by flying over 88 per cent of the population in urbanised areas six times a year.

Executive vice-president of sales for Australia Shane Preston said there was a visual stark differencein the uptake of solar rooftops since  the company began taking photos.

“It’s really obvious how rooftop solar installations — both in residential and commercial — have proliferated in that time period,” Mr Preston said.

“We have a historical library and it is a very dramatic visual catalogue of everything that changes over time.”

Clean Energy Council smart energy director Darren Gladman said it was no surprise the two states with an abundance of sun have seen the strongest uptake in rooftop solar.

But the economic case to install the technology increasingly stacks up, appealing to middle Australia in both reducing costs, but also value adding to their properties, he said.

“They’re sensitive to the price of electricity. They need to look at ways of reducing their electricity bills because they’re in the middle income bracket and they’re the owner-occupier,” he said.

“If you own your house you can easily extend your mortgage and it makes a lot of financial sense. It also makes a lot of sense for retirees because if you’re asset rich but income poor you can put money into it and that can give you cheap electricity for many years.”

“It’s also great because it’s low risk [investment], has a good return and not a huge upfront investment within the reach of most of middle Australia.”

Typically, a residential solar system (five to six kilowatts on average) will pay for itself in the savings on electricity bills between three to six years, Mr Gladman said.

Clean Energy Regulator executive general manager Mark Williamson said the increasing interest in renewables was good news for reducing carbon emissions.

“Our data shows consumers are embracing renewable energy to take control of their electricity bills. We are seeing a wide cross-section of Australians — households, community centres, schools, and small businesses — receiving incentives under the small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme,” he said.

“The data collected by the Clean Energy Regulator in 2017 reflects the industry is going from strength to strength. It looks like 2018 will be another big year for the solar industry.”

The residential solar market has led the way in Australia, the commercial sector may finally be next to take it up with gusto, Mr Gladman said.

“The residential market has always been strong but one of the big trend in the last year or two has been the interest in large commercial systems — warehouses and small business — realising it’s a really good investment for them,” he said.