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2017 solar boom to save households $2 billion

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Australians who installed rooftop solar in 2017 are set to save around $2 billion on their electricity bills in the next decade.

Australians who installed rooftop solar in 2017 are set to save around $2 billion on their electricity bills in the next decade.

A combination of soaring power bills and plunging solar costs has resulted in households across Australia installing more than 1 gigawatt (1,078 megawatts) of solar on their roofs during 2017 according to the Renewable Energy Index (REI).

The solar boom means 2017 was the biggest ever year for rooftop solar, beating the previous annual record, which was set in 2012.

The latest REI compiled by Green Energy Markets and funded by GetUp, also shows investments made in large-scale renewables during 2017 will produce 10,000GWh per year — enough electricity to power all of Tasmania.

GetUp Environmental Campaigns Director Miriam Lyons said the figures prove Australians are ready for the renewables transition.

“Despite the best efforts of big coal, Australians have embraced renewable energy because they see it for what it is — a cheap, clean and safe way to power our future.

“These figures show Australia can and should be, a global renewable energy superpower.

“But the Turnbull Government’s pathetic National Energy Guarantee (NEG) risks slamming the breaks on the renewable industry, with no real incentives to large-scale generators beyond 2020.

“Investors are ready, households are ready — when is the Federal Government going to get with the program and get behind a transition to renewables?”

 

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