Australia's CER has reported that rooftop PV system capacity in 2024 likely reached 3.2 GW, setting a national record. Final data, expected in April, will confirm the total.
CER processed small-scale technology certificate (STC) claims for 3.09 GW in March 2025, surpassing the 3.02 GW recorded in the same period for 2023, which ended with 3.14 GW. This led to the 2024 estimate of 3.2 GW.
The final tally will be available once all claims are received, a process that can take up to a year from installation.
Rooftop PV system additions in 2025 are projected at 2.9 GW to 3.2 GW, with current trends pointing toward the higher end, closely tracking 2024's record level.
CER data shows a clear three-year trend of declining total installations, down 4% or 0.9 GW, while total capacity and average system size have increased, reaching 10 kW in 2024. An estimated 33.6 million STCs were created last year.
There was a significantly higher percentage of new small-scale systems being installed with batteries in 2024 relative to previous years, and data voluntarily reported to the CER shows that 10% of systems were battery-connected in 2024, up from 8% in 2023.
The data also indicates a strong uptick of systems reported as having batteries in Q4, largely driven by the NSW battery incentive scheme.
Importantly, increasing capacity of storage will be important to ensure the rapid increase in generation from rooftop solar does not result in increasing curtailment of large-scale wind and solar to maintain power system security.
In addition, increases in storage help allow further large increases of rooftop solar capacity to be connected without creating security issues in both low and high voltage networks or the need to forcibly 'trip' or tun off rooftop solar.
Battery installations also reached a 10% record in 2024 based on data voluntarily provided to the CER, which says the share of new installations with batteries is likely higher, with market analysts estimating a 2023 figure of around 17%.
