Good on them, and they should save money in the long run, but looking at the nation as a whole the National Energy Guarantee is still the best bet.    

 

The Green Energy Market's Renewable Energy Index - April shows a spike of 56% in the rate of rooftop solar capacity installations across the nation this year. This is leading to some groups getting very excited about the solar craze. 

 

Climate Councillor and energy expert Professor Andrew Stock said more and more Australian homeowners and businesses are turning to "clean, affordable and reliable renewables like solar, harnessing the power of the sun and taking control of their power bills".

 

"Australia is one of the sunniest and windiest countries in the world, so 2018's new record comes as no surprise," he said.

 

"Our renewables boom is creating a jobs boost to the economy, with rooftop solar providing just shy of 5,500 full-time jobs, according to this latest research."

 

The Climate Council's Renewables & Business: Cutting Prices & Pollution report released last week, found that almost half of the nation's businesses are making the switch to renewable energy with electricity prices rising by almost 90% over the past decade.

 

"If this recording-breaking renewables rush continues, within just five years the amount of solar capacity installed will be two and a half times bigger than Australia's largest coal-fired power station," Stock said. 

 

"Despite the national solar surge, the federal government is still lagging behind when it comes to supporting the rollout of clean energy and battery storage."

 

But what the Climate Council doesn't say that the current Australian NEG 2030 target of a 26-28% reduction on 2005 emissions is widely acknowledged as representing one of the largest per capita reductions among G20 nations.

 

In absolute terms, Australia's target is comparable to that put forward by a range of other countries, including Japan, New Zealand, Canada and the United States.

 

Pressures to increase this target amount to pressures to impose additional costs on Australian households and industry and will risk jobs, according to Minerals Council of Australia acting CEO David Byers. 

 

"They do not recognise the energy and resource-intensive nature of the Australian economy and the need to remain internationally competitive," he said.

 

"Requiring the electricity sector to meet more than its share of Australia's emissions reduction target will also increase costs and impede economic efficiency. 

 

"That's why pursuing lowest-cost emissions reductions across the economy is important. Similarly, access to credible international offsets is vital to enabling least cost emissions reductions."

 

So while it might be nice to see households do their bit to reduce their greenhouse emissions by installing solar, coal power is still needed. The big picture still requires a sensible and measured move to Australia's renewables targets without getting too carried away with the latest fads.