Queensland leads on rooftop solar: report

The Climate Council has applauded Queensland for the progress it has made on rooftop solar installations and other moves to tackle climate pollution.

The praise follows the Climate Council’s Race to the Top report, which assesses the performance of each Australian state and territory on rooftop solar, home batteries, electric vehicle registrations and emissions targets.

Queensland is speeding ahead in several areas.

“Queenslanders aren’t just driving this change, they’re fanging it. The Sunshine State has embraced solar panels and electric vehicles so rapidly it’s hard to keep up with their impressive progress,” said Climate Council CEO Amanda McKenzie.

Half (50.2%) of Queensland houses now have rooftop solar, the greatest penetration of any state. There are also 3.1 electric vehicles registered per 1000 people, the second highest adoption after the ACT.

Climate Councillor and former energy executive Greg Bourne said Queensland was also cleaning up its electricity grid. “The switch is on in Queensland, with new investment, jobs and infrastructure in clean energy projects picking up pace. Communities like Gladstone are showing that even heavy industries can phase out coal for a more modern energy mix.”

Bourne said Queensland has played a major role in doubling the clean energy in Australia’s eastern grid in less than six years.

“By keeping the foot on the accelerator, Queenslanders can lower their power and petrol bills and reduce climate pollution, which is driving the kind of extreme floods and fires that have hit this state so hard in the last five years,” he said.

Of the other states and territories, Victoria is leading in wind energy and all-electric homes, NSW in shared transport, and South Australia in household batteries. The ACT topped the scoreboard for zero emissions vehicles, with 20% of new vehicles sold in the ACT now being electric; and with 100% of its power coming from renewables (mostly hydropower), Tasmania continues to be a renewable energy leader.

While WA was making positive progress in some areas, it was being held back by the lack of a statewide plan for making cuts to climate pollution this decade, as well as the ongoing expansion of gas, the Climate Council found. Similarly, the Northern Territory was not on track to cut climate pollution and was continuing with major gas projects.

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