Sustainability

A global study finds climate change will sharply increase high-temperature risks, accelerate degradation, and raise costs for rooftop PV, with economically disadvantaged regions hit hardest. Researchers warn current IEC standards underestimate future risks, urging urgent updates to avoid stranded assets and rising electricity costs.

New research shows how agrivoltaic systems can reshape soil by altering moisture, temperature, and microbial activity, creating heterogeneous zones under and between panels. Proper design and management can boost soil health and crop resilience, especially in degraded or arid regions, though long-term effects remain uncertain.

Transgrid’s HumeLink West project is cutting diesel use to just one hour per day by using a hybrid solar power system at a substation site.

Renewable energy land acquisition brokerage Rok Solid is seeing data centre operators increasingly move development to regional sites and choosing off-grid solutions such as gas and solar to counter metropolitan grid constraints.

An international study finds that successful agrivoltaic projects require farm-specific, holistic co-design that integrates solar layout with agricultural mechanisation from the earliest planning stages. Without proper alignment between machinery, crops, and solar systems, agrivoltaics risk major land loss, lower field efficiency, and higher operating costs, undermining farm profitability.

Omnidian, GoodWe and AIKO have collaborated to install, donate and support long term, a 17 kW rooftop solar and 19.2 kWh battery storage system on an animal shelter in Victoria, and encourage industry to follow suit.

The Ariya demonstration vehicle features 3.8 m² of Lightyear’s custom solar panels integrated across the hood, roof, and tailgate. Testing showed that the car could generate 0.5 kWh of solar energy during a 2‑hour, 80 kilometer trip, delivering up to 3 kilometres of range at no extra cost or charging time.

Rooftop solar generation hit an all-time high in Q4 2025, up 8.7% with an output of 4,407 MW, while also reducing daytime operational demand, contributing to battery charging, and an overall new renewable energy generation record for the National Electricity Market of 51%.

Plans for a 250 MW solar and 350 MWh battery energy storage project proposed for Queensland’s Western Downs region are now available for public comment as developer Pacific Partnerships seeks a green tick from the federal government.

South Australian remote and off grid clean energy specialist MyEnergy Engineering has completed an off grid 100 kW solar and 256 kWh battery system for a large-scale energy hungry piggery, north of Adelaide.