Australia leads the world in rooftop solar penetration. More than four million homes now generate power from their own roofs, and battery uptake continues to accelerate nationally. This is a triumph for clean energy, and a global example.

Is the NEM on the cusp of a “Bactrian camel curve” in which small-scale behind-the-meter storage splits the evening peak? Within just six months of Australia’s Cheaper Home Batteries Program, small-scale storage is already at a point where it could be supplying up to half of the output of Australia’s largest coal plant, Eraring, during peak load.

Solcast, a DNV company, reports that most of Australia experienced above-average solar irradiance in January 2026 due to a hot, dry airmass and clear skies, boosting PV generation despite operational challenges from elevated temperatures, bushfire smoke, and dust. In contrast, northern Queensland and far northern regions saw significant irradiance deficits.

Australia is still dragging its feet on decarbonising the economy. Last September, the Albanese government committed to a 62–70% reduction in carbon emissions by 2035 and net zero by 2050. However, only one month later, the government conceded it would fall just shy of its 2030 target and likely miss net zero without significant changes.

Curtailment remains one of the clearest signs of the challenges that face both existing and new solar and wind projects in the NEM. Rising levels of curtailment are increasingly shaping development decisions for both greenfield and brownfield projects across the solar and wind fleet. While interest in ‘hybrid’ projects is growing, they still represent only a small share of current installed capacity.

In 2026, the Clean Energy Regulator forecasts that up to 12 GWh of storage from a potential 520,000 residential battery installations will occur, and rooftop solar will rebound from 2.7 GW in 2025 to between 3-3.37 GW.

An alliance of 11 major industry, environment and union groups have delivered a plan to the federal government that proposes data centre operators invest in 100% new renewable energy to power their operation, and also fund new energy workforce training.

Smart Energy Council Chief Executive John Grimes has been appointed head of the Renewable Energy Council Asia-Pacific where he aims to step up clean energy deployment across the APAC region.

Malaysia’s prime minister Anwar Ibrahim said future policy will ensure domestic consumers and the electricity grid are protected amid the country’s data centre expansion. This could include leveraging the ASEAN Power Grid project to cover any supply shortfalls.

Pumped hydro continues to push for a place in Australia’s energy transition with the New South Wales government recently declaring two multi-billion-dollar projects Critical State Significant Infrastructure.

The lab-scale, near-white heterojunction solar cell uses nanoclay-based scattering layers combined with dielectric multilayer films to preserve power conversion efficiency while enhancing visual appeal. The researchers report optical losses of less than 1% at a 50% clay volume fraction, which are significantly lower than those observed with textured glass.

An automated tool enables commercial and industrial scale rooftop solar owners to determine if their medium voltage connection requests can be approved online by their distributed network service providers in 15 minutes.

Swedish researchers developed two novel single-axis solar tracking strategies that dynamically adjust panel tilt based on crop light requirements, balancing photosynthesis and energy production. One strategy prioritises daily light integral targets before shifting to energy capture, while the other uses the light-response curve to optimise photosynthesis, offering improved dual-use efficiency compared with conventional tracking methods.

The Yindjibarndi Energy Corporation has opened an expression of interest process for commercial and industrial customers seeking renewable energy offtake from its expanding portfolio of large-scale clean energy projects.

New South Wales electricity distributor Ausgrid has added another centralised community battery to its portfolio, powering up a combined 10 MW energy storage system in the southwest Sydney suburb of Bankstown.

Australia’s national science agency has launched a major revamp of its renewable energy research facility in Newcastle to provide new capacity for researchers and industry to test how technologies such as solar, wind, batteries and electric vehicles can integrate reliably into the grid.

The inverters offer up to 99.2% efficiency, 200% PV oversizing, dual battery inputs, IP65 protection, and support for installations up to 144 kWh of storage capacity.

UNSW researchers have developed an intrinsic-adjusted single-diode model that explicitly accounts for radiative and Auger recombination, improving I–V curve accuracy and reducing root mean square error by up to a factor of three. The model is claimed to better predict performance near open-circuit voltage and maximum power point.

Australian Solar Enterprises has submitted plans for a new large-scale solar and battery project in Queensland for federal environmental approval, saying the 400 MW solar farm will utilise a ground-mounted racking system that eliminates the need for concrete foundations and permanent footings.

Analysis from BloombergNEF finds the levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) of a typical fixed-axis solar farm increased by 6% year-on-year in 2025 to stand at $55/MWh, but innovation and competition are expected to see costs fall by 30% through to 2035.

Scientists in Hungary found that ground-mounted solar modules at an intermediate elevation of 1.1 metres achieve the highest efficiency and power output due to improved airflow and reduced cell temperature.

Perth-headquartered energy storage and battery-based power systems specialist Magellan Power has teamed with specialist investment manager Viburnum Funds to boost its manufacturing capabilities and fund expansion in Australia and internationally.

The United States company said its Power Control software is designed to help installers reduce costs and streamline interconnection. Among its features is the ability to control aggregate system exports through software-based limits.

The Chinese manufacturer said its 15 kW three-phase low-voltage hybrid inverter is paired with the stackable BP5000 5 kWh battery supporting up to 120 kWh. It features three MPPTs, 150% oversized PV input, and smart load management for optimised self-consumption.

High-resistivity silicon wafers offer superior efficiency potential but are highly sensitive to edge recombination and mechanical damage, limiting their commercial use compared to more robust standard wafers. Researchers from Longi and Sun Yat-sen University demonstrated that integrating in-situ edge passivation unlocks this potential, significantly boosting back-contact solar cell fill factor and efficiency.

Macquarie-backed Aula Energy has supercharged its renewable energy ambitions with the acquisition of five utility-scale solar farms in Australia and a development pipeline of up to 800 MW of co-located battery energy storage projects from British-owned developer Lightsource bp.

Perth-headquartered resources and technology company Australian Vanadium Limited’s subsidiary VSUN Energy will partner with Japanese manufacturer Sumitomo Electric Industries in its bid to develop Western Australia’s planned 500 MWh Kalgoorlie vanadium battery project.

A New Zealand government program subsidising and testing battery storage and solar systems on farms across the country, have announced an inaugural uptake of 32 agricultural businesses have signed on to its Solar on Farms program.

The global capacity of utility-scale batteries has increased by more than 12 times between 2020 and 2024, according to the International Energy Agency Electricity 2026 report.

The regional Victorian city of Bendigo has outpaced Melbourne for its uptake of residential batteries under the federal government’s Cheaper Home Batteries program.