Falls in the cost of solar technology has put clean energy within reach of thousands more people than a decade ago.
But many are still asking will prices come down even more?
"We hope they go down further in terms of cost. At the same time, I think we're actually down towards the bottom end of the market. So this is a good time to be purchasing them," CSIRO's Newcastle-based research group leader for solar technologies Greg Wilson said
"There's a lot of variability in the market too. So shopping around understanding the quality of what you are buying is important."
And the consumer-led renewables boom will only hasten as more people drove electric vehicles.
With only a small percentage of solar technology currently produced in Australia Dr Wilson said there were massive opportunities for local manufacturers to capitalise on the current demand.
"Australia has a very small manufacturing industry based out of South Australia. There is a great opportunity for sovereign manufacturing based around the demand that is occurring at the moment," he said.
But for all the clean energy that is being produced by the solar boom, 87 per cent of Australia's solar photovoltaic waste is not recycled.
The technology is now Australia's fastest-growing electronic waste stream. The government recently warned the industry needs to step up efforts to prevent thousands of tonnes of potentially hazardous waste entering the environment.
"We've got about a quarter of a million tonnes of waste going into landfill. It's not just the products that should be recaptured from those solar panels. It's also the potential for toxic materials to leach into the soil and potentially into water," Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said recently.
Dr Wilson said he was particularly keen to see the expansion of solar photovoltaic waste recycling in Australia.
"If we think about the scale of the the renewable deployment, currently the global market for photovoltaics is around 100 gigawatts and by 2030 it will be 1000 or one terawatt," he said.
"There's plenty of opportunity there for an industry to start up in Australia around recycling particularly around the key components like aluminium, glass, plastics and critical metals."
Earlier this month the Clean Energy Regulator proposed the introduction of introduction of multiple accrediting bodies for Australia's rooftop solar industry
But the Clean Energy Council warned the proposal would ultimately be to the detriment of both the industry and consumers.
"A single accrediting body would result in greater responsibility and accountability to respond to and address the broad range of emerging and associated challenges and issues that arise in the industry. This responsibility would be less likely to occur if multiple accrediting bodies existed. Furthermore, consumers with similar complaints need to achieve comparable outcomes," the council said.
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