Grid-forming inverters represent a critical technology transition for the Australian National Electricity Market as the grid moves toward 100% renewable sources. With 10 operational grid-forming battery energy storage systems totaling approximately 1,070 MW and 94 projects in the pipeline, Australia is emerging as a global leader in grid-forming deployment.

As utility-scale battery energy storage systems continue to be deployed across Australia’s National Electricity Market, fire risk assessment is rapidly shifting from a compliance exercise to a core project viability consideration. For developers, asset owners, insurance considerations and regulators, the key question is no longer whether systems meet component certification standards, but how complete BESS systems behave under severe real-world conditions.

For decades, copper was the material the solar industry knew it needed but could not manufacture at scale. That barrier has been lifted. What follows matters for every rooftop, every supply chain, and every gigawatt the energy transition still requires.

As Australia accelerates its shift toward renewable energy, attention has largely focused on generation – scaling solar, deploying storage, and integrating distributed energy resources. But a quieter constraint is emerging beneath this transformation: the grid’s limited ability to see its own condition in real time.

Most of Australia’s existing homes are old, uncomfortable, and expensive to run. Too many are energy inefficient, and rising electricity and gas prices are making things worse. Mainstream programs are supporting home energy upgrades but the transition isn’t happening quickly enough and risks leaving behind the households that could benefit most. New research shows how local initiatives can make solar and electrification more accessible.

Chinese battery energy storage system manufacturer Dyness has expanded its available product portfolio in the Australian market with its Stack100 Pro securing the official tick of approval from the Clean Energy Council.

Western Australia’s energy transition has reached another milestone with construction of the 164 MW / 905 MWh Muchea battery project – the state’s first six-hour grid-scale battery – moving from “concept to reality.”

One of the biggest batteries under construction in South Australia is set to change hands with Australian asset manager Palisade Investment Partners striking a deal to buy the 240 MW / 960 MWh Summerfield project from Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners.

Plans to build a green hydrogen production facility powered by up to 6 GW of solar and wind generation in Western Australia are moving forward with the project selected for accelerated development under the federal government’s new Investor Front Door pilot program.

A new report from global energy think tank Ember shows 814 GWdc in new solar and wind capacity was installed in 2025, but the pace of wind deployment rose 47% year-over-year compared to just 11% for solar.

MyNu Energy has launched a mobile solar generation and battery energy storage system designed to reduce reliance on diesel as the Middle East crisis continues to cause concerns about fuel shortages and uncertain energy costs.

Australian mining giant Fortescue is fast tracking the delivery of what it says is the world’s first fully integrated green energy grid designed to completely eliminate diesel and other fossil fuels from large-scale industry.

Researchers from 11 universities globally, including the University of New South Wales, have collaborated on a paper advocating for the need to guarantee energy security, research in photovoltaics is essential for continued innovation.

Almost 40 residents of a multi-unit complex in Templestowe have opted for two, three or four, 480 W panels, or to share clean energy from a 5 kW solar community board supported by 11 panels under the Victorian Solar for Apartments scheme, scheduled to close at the end of April 2026.

An all-female team of engineering students from the University of the South Pacific, with professional Australian solar technicians have designed, engineered and installed a microgrid for a remote school on the Fijian island of Waya.

A new UNSW study shows that laser-enhanced contact optimisation can boost industrial TOPCon solar cell efficiency by improving contact properties and reducing recombination losses. By combining optimised firing conditions with LECO “repair” of contacts, the approach balances recombination and resistance, offering a practical path for conventional TOPCon cells to compete with PV technologies offering higher efficiencies.

Rystad Energy says capital expenditure on data centers reached $1,086 billion in 2025, matching investment levels in photovoltaic infrastructure and surpassing upstream oil and gas.

New Zealand’s electricity authority has updated its rules to better enable grid-scale and residential solar energy systems to supply local networks, and requires lines companies to set a default export of 10 kW for household solar and battery systems.

New research from the University of New South Wales shows that PV module degradation varies widely with system design and location, driven by UV exposure, temperature, humidity, and atmospheric conditions. Tropical and desert regions face the highest stress, highlighting the need for climate-specific testing and system design.

Output from Australia’s utility-scale solar assets jumped almost 22% in the past 12 months with new data showing the country’s large-scale PV assets generated 1.82 TWh of clean energy last month.

A UNSW-led team found that annealing conditions significantly affect stress, strain, and microstructure in copper-plated heterojunction solar cell contacts, with fast annealing increasing microstrain in both copper and indium tin oxide.

Solar Fabrik has introduced a 400 W red-brown glass-glass PV module designed to meet strict aesthetic requirements for historic and protected buildings, offering a 20.02% efficiency and compatibility with traditional tiled rooftops.

Building-integrated PV technology company ClearVue Technologies is a step closer to commercial deployment of its metal-backed solar panels after securing global IEC certification for the integrated rooftop system.

UNSW researchers developed a chemically selective, nitrate-based, single-sided accelerated ageing method for TOPCon solar cells that replicates the mildly acidic environment inside EVA-encapsulated modules. The proposed approach enables rapid, physically meaningful screening of front-side metallisation stability, reliably predicting module-level degradation and reducing development time and costs, according to its creators.

Tongwei is partnering with GS-Solar and Golden Solar to develop a large-scale manufacturing facility for hybrid heterojunction back-contact solar cells that combine HJT passivation, tunneling oxide and polysilicon structures used in TOPCon designs, and the grid-free front-side architecture typical of back-contact technologies.

Australia’s rooftop solar market has surged 19% in the past month with the latest data revealing a record 341 MW of small-scale rooftop PV capacity was registered across the country in March as consumers also raced to install battery energy storage systems.

Aggreko has unveiled plans to build what it says will be Australia’s biggest off-grid renewable hybrid power facility after signing a long-term power purchase agreement with the owner of Queensland’s largest proposed copper mine.

Spark Renewables has secured final state planning approval for a solar and battery project that will add 800 MW of PV and 356 MW / 1,574 MW of energy storage capacity to the grid in the New South Wales Riverina region.

South Australia has opened up more than 11,000 square kilometres of land for the potential development of renewable energy projects as it continues the march towards its target of 100% net renewables by 2027.

LONGi has launched LONGi ONE, an integrated solar-plus-storage product strategy for grid-scale, and commercial and industrial projects, which will be supported by a growing network of 30 new service centres opening in key locations globally by 2028.