Solar technology
Australia is a world leader in the uptake of rooftop solar and our technologies are leading the way.
Australia is a world leader in the uptake of rooftop solar and our technologies are leading the way.
Efficiency gains, economies of scale, wider public acceptance, more product variety and increasing capacity continue to lower the cost of solar production. The rapid adoption and subsequent price reduction of solar panels resulted in an astounding 18-fold increase in uptake from 2010 to 2020, accompanied by an 80% decrease in costs. Once installed, solar and wind both offer cost-effective electricity generation, require minimal maintenance and do not create pollution or greenhouse gas emissions.
PV panels (or solar panels) use photovoltaic technology to convert sunlight into electricity. They are scalable to the power needs of a home, business, factory or powerplant. Multiple panels, combined with an inverter, are called a solar system, generating direct current (DC) electricity and converting it to alternating current (AC) electricity for safe use in standard electricity circuits. Systems can be installed on the ground, wall or rooftop, and can be fixed in place or use a solar tracker to follow the sun across the sky. They can be thin enough to roll up like a poster and deployed so fast that a 1MW solar farm can be rolled out in a day.
Australian innovations continue to discover more effective ways to build, utilise and deploy solar technology, and make use of our abundant sunshine.
The Cleantech Showcase lists examples of projects that are capable of propelling us towards a prosperous, zero emissions Australia.
This list is not exhaustive and many more comparable projects may exist.
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