Solar panels in Launceston

Where the installs are going

Legana and the West Tamar are the growth areas, along with Prospect Vale and the southern estates. The older suburbs of East Launceston, Trevallyn and Newstead are full of Federation and interwar homes with good north-facing roofs, and they have been installing solar for years despite the winter.

Roofs and homes in Launceston

Launceston's roofs are mostly corrugated iron on older timber homes and Colorbond on the newer ones, with heritage overlays across much of the inner city that can affect what is visible from the street. The valley traps fog and cold air in winter, and low-lying suburbs like Invermay see frost and fog well into the morning, which shortens the productive day further. An array facing north on an unshaded roof is the design that makes sense here; a west array picks up the long summer evenings but does little in winter. Snow is rare in the city but the mounting needs to handle it on the hills.

The network: TasNetworks

TasNetworks runs the network, and Tasmania's retail market is small, with Aurora Energy as the main residential retailer and the feed-in rate set by the state regulator rather than by competition. Single-phase homes have an export limit and larger systems need a connection application. Tasmania's grid is mostly hydro, so the environmental argument for solar is weaker here than on the mainland, and the case rests on the bill: heating loads are large and largely electric, and a system that covers the shoulder seasons and summer makes a real difference.