The broad contours of the federal government’s plan to introduce a Future Made in Australia Act foreshadow several positive directions. But the approach also holds clear risks and unanswered questions which will need to be addressed as the plan is fleshed out,

Solcast, a DNV company, reports that Victoria, Tasmania, Western Australia, and New South Wales were over-performing solar regions in March. This overperformance in the southeast and southwest came despite most of the Australian continent seeing below-average irradiance, due to thicker-than-usual clouds over the sparsely-populated interior and tropics.

Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government has announced it will plough $1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those in the solar industry, and guarding against supply chain shocks and geopolitical tension.

Electricity gen-tailer Origin Energy is currently in talks with the New South Wales government to extend the life of Australia’s biggest coal power clunker, the hyper-expensive, high-emissions, end-of-life 2.88 GW Eraring plant, beyond its slated closure date of August 2025. The reason cited for extension is to maintain reliable and secure energy supply in our state.

The main cost of an electric vehicle is its battery. The high cost of energy-dense batteries has meant EVs have long been more expensive than their fossil fuel equivalents. But this could change faster than we thought.

Ireland-headquartered smart energy company GridBeyond plans to expand its operations in “key market” Australia as part of a broader global growth strategy after securing more than $86 million in new funding.

Australian soccer powerhouse Melbourne City FC has teamed with energy major Origin to install a 40 kW rooftop solar system and 13.5 kW battery energy storage system that will help power its newly opened City Football Academy in the Victorian capital.

A volunteer-based community group is using profits generated by commercial and industrial rooftop solar installations to help build a “bridge to the future” as the Illawarra region on the New South Wales south coast transitions its workforce into new employment.

Applications for the first West Australian tender under the Commonwealth government’s recently expanded Capacity Investment Scheme will open mid-year with an initial target of 2 GWh of renewable energy storage projects.

The first access rights for up to 6 GW of new solar, wind and storage capacity in the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone are now on offer as the New South Wales government continues to progress Australia’s first coordinated renewable energy zone to reality.

One of Australia’s biggest privately owned wine manufacturers has launched a 5.6 MW solar farm to help power its operations in the New South Wales Riverina district, with a second utility-scale PV facility in the pipeline.

Combined rooftop solar capacity is now the second largest source of renewable electricity generation in Australia with new analysis showing that PV systems mounted atop the nation’s buildings provided more than 10% of the country’s power supply in 2023.

The Queensland government has committed $2.5 million to progress the development of an “Australian first” solar panel recycling scheme in preparation for the “thousands” of PV panels installed on rooftops and across large-scale solar farms in the state that are approaching end of life.

Australia has firmly established its status as a global leader in residential solar deployment with 35% of all houses having already installed rooftop systems but new data reveals there is almost 50 GW of “untapped PV potential” on residential buildings across the country.

Maxeon said its new Sunpower Performance 7 panel series features a power conversion efficiency of up to 22.7% and an operating temperature coefficient of -0.29% C.

China-based Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. (CATL) has launched its new TENER energy storage product, which it describes as the world’s first mass-producible 6.25 MWh storage system, with zero degradation in the first five years of use.

Endeavour Energy has activated the first community battery on its network in the New South Wales South Coast as part of a broader program the electricity distributor says will support a higher uptake of renewables and allow more households to access the benefits of rooftop solar.

Building a domestic solar panel manufacturing industry based on Australian innovation could generate up to 60,000 jobs and help cement the nation’s future as a renewable energy superpower but access to capital and focused policies are essential if manufacturers are to reach scale where they can be cost competitive internationally.

Queensland government-owned network operator Powerlink has completed construction work on the transmission infrastructure that will pave the way for more than 2 GW of renewable energy assets in the state’s southeast to connect to the National Electricity Market.

Fortescue has awarded energy infrastructure provider GenusPlus Group two contracts worth a combined $50 million to deliver transmission infrastructure as the mining giant works to decarbonise its iron ore operations in Western Australia.

The federal government has unveiled plans for a Future Made in Australia Act, proposing taxpayer-funded incentives to advance renewable energy industries, manufacturing, and infrastructure to stake Australia’s place in the global clean energy race.

Mounting system provider S-5! is to boost the size of its Australian catalogue with the impending launch of two new mounting components for rooftop PV systems, including a new mount that allows for module level power electronics to be attached directly to solar panel frames.

Construction has officially commenced at Spanish renewable energy developer Acciona Energia’s 380 MW Aldoga Solar Farm being developed near the industrial centre of Gladstone on the central Queensland coast.

Fortescue has officially opened its 2 GW hydrogen electrolyser manufacturing facility Gladstone and followed that by confirming plans to establish a 50 MW green hydrogen production plant at the central Queensland coast site.

China-headquartered inverter manufacturer Solplanet is continuing to expand its product portfolio in Australia with the impending launch of a new three-phase hybrid inverter series designed for residential and small-scale commercial and industrial applications.

Australia’s largest energy retailer Origin Energy Limited (Origin) has entered into an agreement with Belgian company Virya Energy to acquire the Yanco Delta renewables project that comprises an 800 MWh battery energy storage system coupled with a 1.5 GW wind farm in southern New South Wales.

Zen Energy has received a greenlight from New South Wales state-owned corporation WaterNSW to investigate transforming Sydney’s biggest water storage facility into a 1 GW pumped hydro project capable of supplying on-demand power for up to eight hours.

Australian-owned renewable energy investor and developer Quinbrook Infrastructure has announced financial close and the start of construction on a 250 MW / 500 MWh battery energy storage system that will form the first stage of a $2.5 billion renewables-powered data storage precinct in Queensland.

The head of one of Australia’s largest energy generators, retailers and developers has pointed to rising costs and uncertainty about recovering those costs as the cause of a drop in investment for large-scale renewables that threatens Australia’s clean energy goals.

A Western Australian Aboriginal corporation’s plan to create one of the country’s largest renewable energy projects has reached a new milestone with the registration of the Indigenous Land Use Agreement for the planned 3 GW project by the National Native Title Tribunal.