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.

As utility-scale battery energy storage systems continue to be deployed across Australia’s National Electricity Market, fire risk assessment is rapidly shifting from a compliance exercise to a core project viability consideration. For developers, asset owners, insurance considerations and regulators, the key question is no longer whether systems meet component certification standards, but how complete BESS systems behave under severe real-world conditions.

In Q1 2026, grid-scale solar generation jumped 648 MW compared to the same period in 2025, recording an all-time quarterly high of 2,706 MW output, according to new figures released by AEMO in its Quarterly Energy Dynamics Q1 2026 report.

Atmoce has been granted Clean Energy Council (CEC) certification for its residential energy storage portfolio marking the full commercial availability of its M-ELV Battery and the M-Combiner Pro across Australia.

Results from a poll conducted by farmer-led advocacy organisation Farmers for Climate Action, show 63% of residents living in regional Renewable Energy Zones support the shift to clean energy, and just 17% oppose.

Electric vehicle charger designer ReadySteadyPlug has been awarded $1.5 million through ARENA’s Driving the Nation Program to help a rollout of its charging-as-a-service solution for residential apartments.

Sungrow has released a mining microgrid power solutions white paper in partnership with TÜV Rheinland and the China Electrotechnical Society covering application scenarios from 2.5 MW up to more than 100 MW.

A Vietnamese research team has developed a low-cost passive cooling system for PV modules based on hydrogel-coated paper that combines water flow and interfacial evaporation to reduce operating temperatures. Outdoor tests showed temperature reductions of up to 14 C and efficiency gains of up to 16.8%, with stable operation achieved using both freshwater and natural seawater.

Australia’s Energy Market Commission says introducing a new distribution planning framework and undertaking enhanced data reporting will help to reduce rooftop solar curtailment.

Research from Germany’s FernUniversität Hagen finds the solar rebound effect, caused by households increasing their total electricity consumption after installing a solar system, is currently a blind stop in Europe’s energy system planning and abatement scenarios.

Transpower’s latest assessment of New Zealand’s balance between electricity supply and demand suggests an energy gap could emerge in the early 2030s, even if all committed and likely investments are delivered without delay.

Australia Post has installed a 450 kW rooftop solar system and 300 kWh battery energy storage system at its largest air and speed parcel sorting hub at Brisbane Airport.

Janus Electric has launched its first dealer-led heavy vehicle electrification conversion centre in South Australia, enticed by the state’s high penetration of renewable energy in the grid.

Utility scale batteries are maintaining a strong lead in the race for renewable energy pipeline growth, indicated by AEMO’s latest Connections Scorecard showing 67.3 GW of projects are progressing through the NEM connection process.

Researchers in the United States reviewed claims about PFAS in solar panels and found that while fluoropolymers may be used in limited components like backsheets or coatings, there is no confirmed evidence of PFAS leaching from commercially deployed modules.

Victoria-based cleantech company Allume Energy has reached the significant milestone of connecting 10,000 apartments to solar energy in Australia, the UK, USA and Germany.

Sydney researchers in partnership with industry have launched a solar panel recycling hub to improve solar panel waste circular economy technologies and resource extraction, adding another boost to Australia’s existing initiatives.

China’s solar industry has launched its first TOPCon-focused patent pool, led by Trina Solar, JA Solar, and JinkoSolar, to streamline licensing, reduce disputes, and strengthen IP coordination at home and abroad.

Australian battery designer and manufacturer PowerPlus Energy has secured $2.3 million in federal government funding that will support its plans to triple annual battery module production capacity to 150 MWh over the next two years.

The new inverter is designed around standardised 5 MW and 5.5 MW PV sub-arrays with the aim to reduce balance-of-system costs. It features a maximum efficiency of 99.0% and a high-voltage architecture of up to 1,600 Vdc and 1,000 Vac.

Researchers at the University of New South Wales have developed an AI-driven system aimed at accelerating the identification of two-dimensional semiconductor materials that can be used in solar cells.

The Chinese manufacturer said its lightweight Light Diamond TOPCon module delivers 560 W at 24.94% efficiency.

Adding on 100 MW / 200 MWh to the Huntly BESS to double the size of the first stage of one of New Zealand’s largest batteries.

Two First Nations communities in the Northern Territory will share $11 million in ARENA funding that will enable the design, development and leadership of their own microgrid projects, and create a remote First Nations communities energy transition blueprint.

A 360 MW solar farm and a 150 MW / 600 MWh battery energy storage system to be built in New South Wales has secured approval to connect to the electricity grid in the state’s New England Tablelands region.

Latest report from the International Energy Agency says last year’s 600 TWh increase in solar PV was the largest-yet electricity generation increase by any source in one year, outside of periods of post-crisis recovery.

Insurance premiums for renewable energy projects in Australia are expected to decrease this year despite natural catastrophe and extreme weather exposures remaining a major concern, particularly for large-scale solar asset owners and investors.