Opinion & Analysis

The Australian Energy Market Operator estimates data centres will consume 6% of Australia’s grid-supplied electricity by 2030. To put that in context, that’s more than the current share of Australia’s healthcare and social assistance industry. The power-hungry nature of these facilities presents major problems for the energy grid.

Millions of Australian households with rooftop solar are now rapidly adding batteries to maximise their generation and regain control over escalating power bills. This is energy democracy in action, with batteries becoming a key fixture of Australia’s decarbonisation roadmap.

Two years ago, Snowy Hydro announced a reset for its troubled Snowy 2.0 giant pumped hydro project amid cost blowouts. The supposed final cost was $12 billion.

Electric vehicle sales and renewable energy production are on the rise globally. The United States alone added 5.8 million light-duty electric vehicles to its roads as of 2023, leading the US Department of Energy to predict that electricity demand for EV charging could increase overall US electricity consumption by 20-50% by 2050.

Australia has more solar panels per person than anywhere else in the world. One in three houses now has rooftop solar. Our grid operators are working hard to adjust to a new reality where the collective output of rooftop solar is one of our largest sources of power.

Achieving Australia’s 2035 energy goals needs engineering firms to have project intelligence at their fingertips, through unified, real-time data about a project, its people, and finance, to ensure accurate forecasting, avoid delays and maximise performance.

Australia is at a crossroads in its energy transition. Policymakers are doubling down on centralised renewable energy zones, while businesses and households are voting with their wallets, putting solar on rooftops and batteries in garages, warehouses, and factories.

Experts from the International Solar Energy Society explain how regional spectral shifts of the standard spectral distribution of sunlight bring new insights into the performance of bifacial perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells.

For more than a century, global geopolitics has revolved around oil and gas. Countries with big fossil fuel reserves, such as Saudi Arabia and Russia, have amassed significant wealth and foreign influence, helping shape the world order.

As Australia’s energy transition continues, there are increasing opportunities for developers to look beyond traditional project delivery models to help unlock better project outcomes and support the accelerated rollout of clean technologies.