High power prices drive thousands to install premium solar, with commercial-scale taking increasing interest in Enphase's superior solutions

MELBOURNE, Australia--Enphase Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENPH) today announced regional Australia has experienced a 453 percent year-over-year growth in installed solar units in 2014, outpacing metropolitan growth at 440 percent for the same period.

Enphase has seen outstanding growth in regional and outback Australia with the increase in its solar microinverter installations in 2014. These figures align with data from the REC Agents Association, which states that in 2012, 53 percent of solar systems were installed in regional and rural communities compared to 43 percent in major capital cities.

The top 10 fastest growing towns for Enphase in regional Australia are:

1. Gelorup (WA)
2. Armidale (NSW)
3. Trinity Park (QLD)
4. Devonport (TAS)
5. Woolgoolga (NSW)
6. Townsville (QLD)
7. Squeaking Point (TAS)
8. McLaren Vale (SA)
9. Warrnambool (VIC)
10. Chinchilla (QLD)

Nathan Dunn, Enphase Asia-Pacific Managing Director said, "In less than two years since Enphase established a direct presence in Australia, the demand for solar photovoltaic systems has strengthened significantly in regional and rural Australia. Regional Australia has experienced the most significant retail energy price shocks and this has spurred them toward adopting solar power."

Households, along with small and medium sized enterprise are the primary adopters of Enphase solar systems, with large scale commercial taking an increasing interest due to Enphases record for superior energy yield, versatility to overcome challenging rooftops and its globally acclaimed online monitoring software that offers unmatched visibility of system health and performance.

Dunn added, "Agriculture, farms, shopping centres and commercial businesses are the strongest users of solar energy because they have the most to gain. Driving their demand for solar energy is the fact that electricity prices tend to be higher in semi-regional and rural Australia than in urban areas. This in turn makes solar a strong value proposition for business and domestic users in regional and rural areas."

Enphases regional customers include:

* Hartleys Crocodile Adventures in Wangetti Beach, Queensland, which draws approximately 25 percent of its energy requirements from solar and is looking to more than double their system size.
* Entire Concrete, in Singleton, New South Wales, which has 65 percent of its electrical energy needs provided by solar.
* Danny Orr Earthmoving in Alice Springs, Northern Territory, which powers 65 percent of its facility with solar.
* Flying Fish Cove Community Housing, on Christmas Island, Western Australia, draws 80 percent of its energy needs from solar.
* Jacana Green Retirement Living, in Moama on the New South Wales-Victoria border, has 70 percent of its energy requirements met by solar.

The potential for the pairing of solar energy generation with battery storage in order to maximise utilisation of solar-generated energy in rural and regional areas is now a reality. Battery storage is especially appealing for homes and businesses that are located some way from fixed energy grids.

This vision of pairing solar energy with battery storage and intelligent software will be made available to Australians when Enphase launches the Enphase Energy Management System, expected to be in early 2016. Combining the Enphase AC Battery, S Series Microinverter with bi-directional power line communications and smart Envoy-S communications gateway, the next generation system will let households and businesses store, control and manage the energy generated by their solar system. It is expected that this revolutionary solution will dramatically accelerate the adoption of solar power in Australia, and redefine the way renewable energy is being used across the nation.

Enphase recently received the 2014 Global Frost & Sullivan Award in recognition of the companys Technology Leadership. It cited Enphase as having made considerable progress toward achieving the companys vision of providing clean, reliable and affordable solar energy to both the mainstream commercial and residential sectors through its innovative microinverters.

About Enphase Energy, Inc.
Enphase Energy delivers energy management technology for the solar industry that increases energy production, simplifies design and installation, improves system uptime and reliability, reduces fire safety risk and provides a platform for intelligent energy management. Its semiconductor-based microinverter system converts energy at the individual solar module level and brings a system-based high-technology approach to solar energy generation, storage, control and management. For more information, visit www.enphase.com.

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