Since 1998, SEDA – the Sustainable Energy Development Authority of New South Wales (NSW), Australia – has surveyed over 800 owners of residential solar power systems who have applied for a rebate under the state government’s Solar Power Rebate Programme. The survey data have been collated and analyzed and are now available as a summary report and supplementary CD-ROM.

The dominant indicator shows that the vast majority of PV users are located in non-metropolitan (i.e. mainly off-grid) areas. The study might therefore be (mis)interpreted as being peculiar to Australia; but IEA-PVPS data attests that 10 other PVPS countries,including the USA, have a higher percentage of off-grid domestic PV than Australia, so read on...

Other indices show that the majority (57 %) of owners are male, with only 16 % female (the remainder describing themselves as part of a couple), and a much higher than expected proportion are in the 40-60 agegroup (63 %) when compared to census indicators. Purchasers (over 50 %) tend to be from professional backgrounds, with less than a quarter describing themselves as from blue-collar backgrounds. Households are generally 1-2 persons, and perhaps most surprisingly, those with a combined annual income of less than AUD 30 000 (USD 18 000).

The main motivation for investing in PV was necessity, but environmental concerns were an important driver, particularly among younger white-collar workers in metropolitan areas, and particularly since October 2000.

From the promotion perspective, the most effective publicity tool was word of mouth, with magazines and suppliers also stimulating interest.

Copies of the summary report together with the detailed data tables on CD can be purchased from SEDA for AUD 55.

Contact:

• Alison Reeve
  Fax +61 2 9299 1519

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