Capital
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The NEM transition is accelerating as the country races towards its 2030 renewables target of 82%, BloombergNEF has observed in is latest Australia Power Market Quarterly report, which found that wind, solar and hydro accounted for 50% of NEM generation during the last quarter of 2025. Fully 29% of power price intervals were below $0 per MWh during the quarter – a sign of NEM oversupply – and a “staggering” 59% of potential generation by South Australia’s solar farms was curtailed. The benefits of high renewable output were reinforced by milder weather that kept supply strong compared with demand.
The federal government will invest $39 million over three years to help First Nations communities implement clean energy projects, with grants set to provide between $5,000 and $80,000 for training, planning and professional advice. Round 1 of the grants has $8.6 million in funding, with applications now open and set to continue for six months or until the funds are exhausted.
 Projects
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Sydney data centre company Cloud Carrier has proposed powering the three data centres in its Southern Highland Data Campus (SHDC) with a new 700MW gas-fired power station that would be colocated on its site, which is 6km from Moss Vale in the NSW Southern Highlands. Its choice of gas-fired generation – the power would be generated by 21 reciprocating turbines – has raised concerns about the sourcing of adequate power and water to keep up with exploding data centre demand. (ABC)
The NSW Government has declared two major pumped hydro projects as Critical State Significant Infrastructure, elevating their status and promising to speed approvals as the $3.5 billion Western Sydney Pumped Hydro Project, at Lake Burragorang, and Mudgee’s $3.6 billion Yarrabin (Phoenix) Pumped Hydro projects progress through early planning stages. The projects, which will together provide enough power for 1.1 million homes, are being managed by ZEN Energy and ACEN Australia, respectively, will undergo public exhibition and community consultation phases.
Iberdrola’s proposed Bundaberg Regional Battery is in doubt as the Qld planning minister considers using special 'call-in' powers to cancel it. It would be the third battery project to be called in since the start of the year. (AFR)
Regulation
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The AER has knocked back an application from Ausgrid for $19.6 million in costs it incurred during “significant restoration activities” to repair damage from the January 2025 storm event. The claim was initially reduced to $16.1 million after a please-explain from the AER, which has subsequently ruled that the storm does not meet the requirements for a positive change event under the National Electricity Rules.
Energy retailers and embedded network operators would be required to check in regularly with customers who rely on life-support equipment, under newly proposed Essential Services Commission (ESC) regulations that would also enable doctors to identify customers who are most likely to be injured or die during prolonged power outages. The ESC proposal, which is open for feedback until April 16, would also update responsibility for the life support register so that only energy retailers can change it.
Policy
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Google, Microsoft Meta, Amazon, Oracle, xAI and OpenAI have all signed US president Donald Trump’s recently announced Ratepayer Protection Pledge, codifying a non-binding commitment that they will cover the cost of new electricity generation required to support their fast-expanding data centre footprint. The big tech companies will be expected to bring or buy electricity supplies and pay for upgrades to power delivery systems – all part of what has been described as a way of winning support from towns and cities that have pushed back against plans to locate major data centres in their backyards. (Guardian)
Advocacy group National Seniors Australia (NSA) is pushing for the federal government to provide a $150 energy credit for households and small businesses that do not have solar and/or batteries, in an effort to ensure it is "targeted at need”. The program would cost around $992 million to subsidise the 6.6 million households that still don’t have solar, plus $150 million to support one million small businesses, NSA said in a pre-budget submission that also called for ‘catch-up’ and ongoing indexation to the existing Energy Supplement.
A Freedom of Information request revealed nearly 200 text messages – many sent after hours and on weekends – between Woodside Energy and senior DCCEEW officials that the Australian Conservation Foundation says reveal the “unfiltered, casual access” through which Woodside officials were able to extract favourable environmental approvals from their regulators. After Woodside told DCCEEW that stronger environmental conditions would make its Browse gas project unviable, DCCEEW ultimately watered down proposed requirements. “When Woodside sends the government ‘you up’ texts,” said ACF CEO (and ex-Green) Adam Bandt, “the public and nature gets screwed.”
Energy systems
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Manufacturers should review and update their existing energy waste, carbon emissions and operational fundamentals before pouring money into renewables with the intention of patching over existing problems, consultancy DETA Consulting has advised. Site assessments often reveal potential 20% to 30% savings that can be achieved through improved scheduling, data review, and system optimisation — with managing director Jonathan Pooch warning that many manufacturing and commercial sites are "leaking value every day”. (Australian Manufacturing)
Technology
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European energy optimisation platform 1KOMMA5° has launched in Australia, bringing its Heartbeat AI battery and energy management tools to a market where installed battery capacity continues to surge. The technology connects home solar and battery systems, analysing consumption over time and purchasing battery capacity during discount electricity periods in a process that the company says can “accelerate battery payback by up to $1,500 per year compared to a traditional retail energy setup.”
The energy industry must take a proactive and consumer-focused approach to managing peak loads more efficiently, asset management solutions company EA Technology has advised in releasing the findings of a survey of 8,002 respondents across Australia-NewZealand and the UK early last year. Some 57% of Australian and 64% of New Zealand respondents believe they could shift some usage to off-peak times, and – with 45% planning to buy an EV or electric bike in the next five years – the report argues that generators and distributors must tap smart analysis and detailed load forecasting, and simulation to “deliver these new connections efficiently".
Climate
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Traditional land owners are being disadvantaged by carbon credit schemes because their land is relatively undisturbed, RMIT University researchers have argued, noting that conventional land owners are able to generate carbon credits by restoring degraded ecosystems. This had created a “perverse outcome,” study author and director of RMIT’s Centre for Nature Positive Solutions Professor Peter Macreadie said, by “rewarding those who damaged land in the past while excluding Indigenous custodians who for generations have cared for country.” A more equitable approach, the report argues, would bolster the legitimacy of the carbon credits scheme and provide “fairer and more effective environmental outcomes”.
