Let’s say you want to encourage more drivers to shift to battery-electric vehicles. What’s the best way to do it?

In the past 12 to 18 months, the NEM’s battery fleet has well and truly crossed the chasm from early adoption to mainstream acceptance, and is slowly becoming a key force in shaping dynamics in the physical market. The build-out is large, the pace of development has been relatively rapid, and — as we saw in AGL and Origin’s half-year results two weeks ago — battery earnings are becoming more of a focal point in company updates and strategy.

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.

UNSW researchers will collaborate with Sydney solar battery installation company Aussie Solar Batteries to design, develop and test AI-driven energy management platforms capable of optimising solar and battery systems.

Electric vehicle advocates have called on governments to preserve EV-uptake incentives and boost clean energy generated electricity such as rooftop solar, and guarantee fuel security through electrification.

Output from Australia’s large-scale renewable energy sector continues to climb with the nation’s utility PV and wind assets generating a total of 5.0 TWh in February, delivering an 11% increase on the same time last year.

Singapore has increased its 2030 solar target by 1 GW after surpassing the original 2 GW goal before the end of last year.

Victoria-headquartered renewables developer and electricity retailer Flow Power has added another solar and battery project to its portfolio with the acquisition of the Dunedoo Energy Project planned for central west New South Wales.

Queensland-based gas business Arrow Energy has turned to solar and battery energy storage to help power it coal-seam gas operations in the Queensland’s Surat Basin.

Solar battery installers have been warned to “do it once and do it well” as the number of batteries installed across Australia under the federal government’s Cheaper Home Batteries Program surges past the 250,000 milestone, delivering a combined 6.3 GWh of capacity.

Construction has officially commenced on a network upgrade in the New South Wales Upper Hunter that is to boost transfer capacity in the region by at least 1 GW by 2028 in support of the state’s renewable energy transition.

The APX HV Battery 2.0 supports 5–30 kWh capacities and up to 15 kW of output. The IP66-rated system features a stacked, cable-free design.

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.

With demand for low- or zero-emission logistics ratcheting up, cold-chain transport specialist Protran Solutions says a refrigerated trailer operating entirely on battery-electric power charged by solar has successfully completed a more than 1,600-kilometre trial run along Australia’s east coast.

Premier Energies has unveiled India’s first zero-busbar TOPCon solar cell, a design that marks a structural shift from traditional 10 and 16 busbar architectures, replacing thick silver busbars with a dense matrix of ultra-fine silver lines to collect current.

The Chinese manufacturer claims the new efficiency result sets a world record for industrial-scale TOPCon solar cells on M10-size wafers. The achievement was verified by an undisclosed independent third-party organisation in China.

Kardinia Energy has received a federal grant worth $2.15 million to help scale production of its Newcastle-based printed solar technology.

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.

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.

An Australian research team has developed a five-step, rule-based method that detects and classifies underperformance in PV systems using only AC-side inverter data. Validated across more than 1,000 systems, the approach offers a low-cost, low-intervention solution for improving reliability, fault response, and PV system performance.

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.

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 2.8 GW in 2025 to between 3-3.7 GW.

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.

The Australian manufacturer of a high voltage transformer deployed at the Waratah Super battery, which failed in 2025, has started production of its replacement with delivery scheduled for Q3 2026.

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.