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The sunshine state: implications from mass rooftop solar PV take-up rates in Queensland

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  • Paul Simshauser
  • Tim Nelson
  • Joel Gilmore

Abstract

One of the most pronounced trends in Australian electricity markets over the past decade has been the rapid take-up rate of rooftop solar PV by households. In this article, we analyse the cause and effects of rooftop solar PV in the NEM's Queensland region, which has the highest household take-up rate in the world. Initially sparked by a combination of sharply rising electricity tariffs and over-lapping rooftop PV subsidies, economic considerations soon took over. More than 43% of households have a behind-the-meter solar unit. Benefits to participating households are significant, while hidden costs remain for non-participants. Impacts on utilities are mixed, with retail supply businesses most adversely affected. Rooftop PV has displaced ~1500MW of base and peaking plant, equating to ~$3bn investment. Yet despite world-leading rates of rooftop solar, Queensland's grid-supplied system peak demand continues to rise, albeit shifted to later in the evening.
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Suggested Citation

  • Paul Simshauser & Tim Nelson & Joel Gilmore, 2022. "The sunshine state: implications from mass rooftop solar PV take-up rates in Queensland," Working Papers EPRG2219, Energy Policy Research Group, Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.
    • Handle: RePEc:enp:wpaper:eprg2219
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Rooftop solar PV; electricity utilities;

    JEL classification:

    • D25 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Intertemporal Firm Choice: Investment, Capacity, and Financing
    • D80 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - General
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • L51 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Economics of Regulation
    • Q41 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Demand and Supply; Prices

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