Swiss asset manager firm SUSI Partners has purchased a 50% equity in Starling Energy Group, an Australian installer of solar photovoltaics (PV) and energy storage systems for the residential sector, as reported by PV Tech on December 10. The transaction will provide capital to Starling Energy to launch over 10,000 distributed solar and storage systems over the next few years, and proceeds will be sourced from SUSI’s Energy Transition Fund (SETF).

The deal came after the Swiss fund manager signed an infrastructure funding agreement worth AUD50m (USD36m) with Starling Energy in 2019, which funds the latter’s deployment of residential solar-plus-storage systems in Western Australia. The system, composed of rooftop PV, battery storage, and dispatch optimization, would make residents largely self-sufficient in power consumption. According to the Australian PV Institute, the country installed three gigawatts (GW) of rooftop PV systems in 2020 compared with a 2.5 GW installation in the previous year, with 1.8 GW installed on residential roofs and 1.2 GW on commercial and industrial roofs. The booming rooftop solar industry has boosted the country’s total solar power installation to 22.3 GW by mid-2021, almost tripling its capacity since 2017. Hence, Australia has taken a lead in the world with a solar per capita of 810 watts (W) per person, followed by Germany with 650 W per person. According to a forecast by the Australian Energy Market Operators, rooftop solar would contribute up to 75% of the national grid consumption by 2026.

Sources:

https://www.pv-tech.org/susi-partners-buys-50-stake-in-australian-residential-solar-storage-provider/

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2021/11/03/australia-deployed-3-gw-of-rooftop-solar-in-2020/

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2021/08/05/australias-rooftop-pv-capacity-reaches-14-7-gw/

https://mercomindia.com/australia-has-highest-solar-per-capita/