Buy now, pay later app aims to be Afterpay for rooftop solar

Solar rooftop installations are one of the fastest-growing sectors of home improvement, with households around the country installing the equivalent of an entire power plant every four months, but not everyone can be part of the growth.

Brighte chief executive Katherine McConnell.CREDIT:

One of the main reasons households don’t install solar panels is because they believe the upfront costs are too high.

The head of the Australian Energy Market Operator, Audrey Zibelman, has warned that these upfront costs have created a growing gap between the rich and poor, because those who cannot afford solar panels are effectively paying for those who can with higher power prices.

Read the story by Cole Latimer from The Age - “Buy now, pay later app aims to be Afterpay for rooftop solar.”

Australian homes, business installed 6.5 solar panels per minute in 2017

We know that Australian homes and businesses were installing rooftop solar at a record-breaking clip in 2017, but the latest data from the Clean Energy Regulator makes that official – and how.

According to the CER’s latest update on the Small-Scale Renewable Energy Scheme, solar panels were installed on rooftops at a mind-bending rate of 6.5 per minute in 2017, adding a total of 1057MW new capacity for the year.

This equates to 3.5 million solar panels being fixed to Australian rooftops, or more than 9500 installed every day, the CER said.

All told, there was a 41 per cent increase in installed renewable energy capacity across all states and territories compared to 2016, the report says.

Read the One Step off the Grid story by Sophie Vorrath - “Australian homes, business installed 6.5 solar panels per minute in 2017.”