Opinion & Analysis

Australia is in the grip of a record-breaking battery rush. Last week Energy Minister Chris Bowen announced that more than 380,000 home batteries have been installed since July last year. That’s over 100,000 more than the total installed between 2020 and mid-2025. The reason for the rush: government subsidies, which cut the upfront cost by about 30%.

In our collective enthusiasm for renewable energy, Australia now has installed millions of solar panels and inverters on roughly one in three homes. This is one of the most impressive renewable energy stories in the world and a case study in how effective it can be as an investment across the nation.

Australia’s energy transformation is no longer a projection on a policy document — it is actively reshaping the physical landscape of the continent. Across Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia, and South Australia, Renewable Energy Zones are emerging as the structural backbone of a grid that must transition away from ageing coal-fired baseload and deliver clean, reliable, and affordable power to a growing economy.

As Australia accelerates its transition to a cleaner, more resilient energy system, one truth is becoming increasingly clear: the future of energy infrastructure must be built not just for communities, but with them.

Australia has no shortage of brilliant researchers or world-class science. Across energy storage, grid reliability, green hydrogen and beyond, our institutions are producing discoveries with real potential to reshape how we power our country and our economy. Yet too often, having worked across research translation for nearly a decade, I’ve seen that potential stall before it reaches the people and industries that need it most.

With data centre demand creating new challenges for network operators, Schneider Electric’s Farokh Ghadially outlines why the next phase of the transition isn’t just about adding more renewables, but managing a system that is more distributed, more data-heavy and less predictable.

Q4 2025 in South Australia saw grid-connected loads with spot price exposure actually being paid to use electricity about half the time (46%) – and that electricity was overwhelmingly (80%) supplied by renewables. This demonstrates a shift from managing demand to quietly needing it. Particularly in regions like South Australia, there is growing demand for demand.

Solcast, a DNV company, reports that March in Australia was unusually wet and disrupted, with frequent tropical cyclones, polar air intrusions, and repeated low-pressure systems causing widespread cloud, storms, and record cold in the southeast. Solar irradiance was mixed: below average in the south due to persistent cloud and storms, but near or above average on some northern and coastal regions where breaks between systems allowed recovery.

With a volatile global fuel and energy crisis continuing relentlessly, Australia holds a quiet but powerful advantage that provides cost-of-living energy relief to millions by allowing our cars and homes to run on sunshine instead of fossil fuels.

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.