There’s a silent problem building across Australia’s solar rooftops and most asset owners don’t even know they’re sitting on it. It starts with something simple: a single damaged panel.

Any week now, Australia will set its 2035 emissions target. It must signal the nation’s strong ambition on climate action, to drive policy and investment. And it must avoid being seen as either unrealistic or too costly. The decision is not an easy one for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his cabinet.

Solcast, a DNV company, reports that while solar irradiance has been suppressed across eastern Australia this winter, the country’s southern regions have outperformed climatological averages thanks to stable high pressure in the Tasman Sea.

For years, information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) have run on parallel tracks. IT managed the digital world – servers, networks, cybersecurity – while OT managed the physical – power, cooling, fire suppression, access control. They had separate teams, tools, and even languages. That separation is no longer feasible.

The role of consumer energy resources is central to Australia’s energy transition, but without quality data and effective data sharing frameworks, the full value of CER cannot be realised for system operators, for markets, or for consumers.

The rise of rooftop solar is rapidly reshaping Australia’s energy landscape with a new report revealing that PV systems mounted atop the nation’s buildings contributed 14.7% of the National Electricity Market’s total generation in the first quarter of 2025.

Venture capital outfit Pacific Channel has launched a new renewable energy development fund to accelerate the development of more than 10 GW of large-scale solar, wind and battery energy storage projects across New Zealand.

The Victorian government’s $480 million investment into strengthening the state’s energy grid is closing on another milestone with the installation of Australia’s largest synchronous condenser nearing completion.

An “explosion” of renewable energy projects and associated infrastructure is expected to supercharge construction activity in regional Australia at twice the rate of work in capital cities over the next two years.

The Australian arm of Philippines-based energy company Acen Corp is seeking federal government approval to build a 440 MW / 1,760 MWh battery energy storage system in the heart of Queensland coal country.

JA Solar has launched DesertBlue, a 650 W tunnel-oxide passivated contact module for desert PV projects, featuring self-cleaning glass, reinforced frames, and heat-tolerant design with desert-specific certification.

The China-based technology and solar infrastructure company has launched Buildex, a line of solar panel installation robots. A built-in forklift, a robotic arm and advanced automation software support its ability to carry, pick and place panels in a variety of terrains.

Western Australian renewables infrastructure provider Pacific Energy has flicked the switch on a 26 MW hybrid energy power system that includes the first off-grid solar farm to supply power to a mine site in New South Wales.

Chinese PV manufacturer Longi has launched a lightweight back-contact solar module for low-load commercial and industrial rooftops with limited structural load capacity.

Subsidiaries of Gentari and Gamuda will develop 1.5 GW of solar with battery storage in Malaysia to supply hyperscale data centres under the Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme, supporting the country’s push to expand clean energy and meet rising tech-sector demand.

Ireland headquartered energy optimiser GridBeyond has expanded its presence in the Australian renewable energy market with the launch of two data-driven platforms designed to help asset owners navigate uncertainty around revenue predictability.

Defending Belgian champion Innoptus is on track early to secure a third consecutive win in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, edging ahead of their rivals after day two of the 3,000-kilometre race across the Australian Outback.

Waaree Energies has launched flexible solar modules up to 70% lighter and under 3.5 mm thick. The panels can be bonded directly to surfaces without mounting penetrations, suitable for sites where drilling or heavy support structures are impractical.

Dutch team Brunel has taken the early lead in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, opening a narrow gap over compatriot Solar Team Twente after the first day of the 3,000-kilometre car race from Darwin to Adelaide.

ACE Power has sold to Banpu Energy Australia, the ready-to-build 103 MW / 206 MWh Kerang grid-forming battery energy storage system, located in the Loddon Valley region of Victoria.

International researchers have included an interlocked self-assembled monolayer in perovskite indoor PV to enhance its stability and durability, testing the novel structure through fabricating cells, mini modules, and a prototype device of an electronic price tag, and which was found to exhibit a lifetime approaching 6,000 hours.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency has launched a $500 million initiative aimed at supercharging Australia’s battery manufacturing industry and seizing opportunities associated with the global renewable energy transition.

InfoLink Consulting says global module shipments rose 10% to 247.9 GW in the first half of 2025, with JinkoSolar narrowly pushing past Longi and TOPCon tech accounting for more than 94% of the total.

Chinese researchers, led by a research team from PV Technology Centre of Tongwei Co., Ltd, used a sequential annealing process in the fabrication of tandem solar cells, featuring a wide bandgap perovskite top cell on a fully-textured commercial crystalline silicon heterojunction bottom cell. The resulting device had a certified power conversion efficiency of 31.4%, outperforming a 29.43%-efficient control cell.

Software company PVFarm has improved its single-axis tracker and fixed tilt configurators for planning large-scale projects, adding customisation features and additional support for terrain-conforming designs.

Victorian-headquartered renewable energy developer ACEnergy has tapped China-based battery manufacturer CATL to supply 3 GWh of battery energy storage systems in Australia.

The Australian Renewables Income Fund, a renewable energy fund managed by British infrastructure investor Foresight Group, has raised $700 million to refinance existing projects and expand its portfolio.

The New South Wales-based lithium ion battery company Energy Renaissance has gone into administration, just months after celebrating a decade in business.

The Victorian government has fast-tracked approval for two renewable energy projects in East Gippsland, which have the potential to host a sheep grazing operation and power 36,000 households.

The Australian Energy Market Operator’s 2025 electricity statement of opportunities 10-year report finds investments needed to maintain reliability in the national electricity market are well on track.