Australia gets gold medal for solar stupidity !

Australia has the dubious honor of installing the most solar panels in the world last year because of government policies making the poor pay the electricity bills of the better-off. Those with solar panels are paid over ten times the wholesale electricity price and this is recouped from renters and pensioners among others. The figures in future will not be as rosy as both Queensland and NSW have cut rebates savagely and the last year's installation numbers reflect the last minute rush to beat the deadlines.

AUSTRALIANS put more household solar panel systems on their roofs than anyone else in the world last year, new data from the Clean Energy Regulator and the International Energy Agency show.

The statistic astonished many in the solar industry, given Australia's small population compared with renewable energy market leaders such as European Union countries, China, Japan and the United States. About 392,500 new household solar systems were switched on last year.

Australia still generates far less solar electricity than those countries, but the nation's preference for small, individual panels mounted on detached, owner-occupied suburban homes means a greater number of systems were actually installed.