Capital

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West Australians have overcome their usual aversion to Commonwealth programs, with six WA postcodes now sitting in the nation’s top 20 for uptake of home batteries. More than 100 batteries have been installed by households and businesses in the state every day since the program kicked off on July 1, Energy Minister Chris Bowen said, selling the benefits of the program at a doorstop alongside Federal Member for Moore Tom French.

Projects

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A raft of new projects were opened for comment after EPBC referral as the sector ramps up for its first year in the wake of reforms designed to make project assessments more efficient. Among them are AGL’s 150MW Muswellbrook battery, Neoen Australia’s 500MW Yathroo Wind Farm and 8-hour BESS, TagEnergy’s 600MWh Kincraig BESS planned for Naracoorte near an existing substation in South Australia, and Alinta Energy’s 300-400MW Marri Wind Farm in WA. Under EPBC Act reforms, projects can be approved using a new national interest option but they must first go through a full environmental assessment, including public consultation.

Meanwhile, the wind element of Synergy and Bright Energy Investment’s 2GW Tathra project in Western Australia was waved through by the state’s environmental regulator, with all approvals secured within four months. (Renew Economy)

Policy

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Copper could either be an enabler or the obstacle to electrification, according to a report from ratings agency S&P. Without policy changes to accelerate the development of new mines, increase recycling and forge new trade deals between suppliers, processors and users, S&P predicts a 10 million metric tonne shortfall by 2040. (Semafor)

Regulation

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Whether a proposed house is the same as an existing house is under the microscope in the WA wheatbelt, with Neoen's proposed Narrogin Wind Farm under a cloud because of a house that has not yet been built. Planning laws stipulate that wind turbines should not be within 1.5km of an existing dwelling, but Narrogin's neighbour put in an application for a new building at around the same time as the wind farm proposal was being assessed. The decision from the state's planning commissioners could have implications for planning in other states. (The Aus)

Climate

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Global climate tech investment grew 8% in 2025 to hit $40.5 billion, according to analysis from Sightline Climate, with bigger deals evidenced as the total number of deals fell 18%. Decarbonisation is taking a back seat, the authors said, with the most important driver for climate tech investment now the rapid rise in energy demand. “The most common question we're getting from the energy sector right now is: whatʼs real? Thatʼs because if AI becomes a bubble about to burst, thereʼs nothing that could take its place,” they said.

Research

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Australia will not reach 100% renewable energy across all sectors until 2065, after China, according to a new study from Stanford University. Civil and environmental engineering professor Mark Z. Jacobson projected when 150 countries might reach this goal based on existing clean, renewable generation and the growth rate of such generation. He found China could do so by 2051, while the US and India may reach 100% only after 2130. The projection was based on data showing China likely added renewable generating capacity at an annual pace of 397GW in 2025.

Australia moved up to 4th place for BESS installations in 2025, according to the latest global data from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. In a LinkedIn post, head of research Ioloa Hughes said China, topping the list, installed more batteries in December than the US — the second largest market — did in the full year. Projects are also getting bigger with 46 giga-scale projects entering operation in 2025, compared to 17 in 2024, and more than 150 such projects in the pipeline for 2026. BESS system pricing hit new lows with project tenders in China hitting $63/kWh.