Australian PV system prices trending into new territory

From pv magazine Australia

In August, Australia’s residential favorite solar system size, 6.6 kW, became more expensive on a per kilowatt basis than systems ranging from 10 kW to 15 kW. It is the first time the range from 6.3 kW to 8 kW has been dethroned on price.

SunWiz Managing Director Warwick Johnston told pv magazine Australia that the shift is due to rising competition. That is, 6.6 kW solar systems have traditionally been the mainstay for solar installers in Australia, so those selling different systems have had less competition.

“Now people have cottoned on, finally, to the [10+ kW] market being as almost as large as the 6.6 kW market,” Johnston said. Now with significantly more installers selling in this 10 kW plus market, competitive pressure has increased, he added. “Plus, people have got more experience in how to install those jobs.”

Another noteworthy trend emerging from Australia’s solar market is that leads continue to spike, even though fewer customers are actively seeking installations.

“Customers aren’t going out and searching for solar anymore than they used to, but there are definitely lots more leads flowing through,” Johnston said. “I haven’t seen such a strongly defined difference before.”