This week saw Australian governments splashing cash on long duration storage, reviving a hydrogen hub and subsidising EV loans.
Capital
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In New South Wales, six new battery energy projects were successful in the latest Long-Term Energy Service Agreements (LTESAs) administered by ASL, putting the state on track to achieving its stretch long duration storage target of 42GWh by 2034. Brookfield-owned Neoen and Spanish groups Iberdrola and FRV Services head the winners’ list.
ARENA committed $21 million to the Australian Renewable Energy Hub (AREH), a large-scale wind, solar and green hydrogen development that was slated to generate up to 26GW before the withdrawal of oil and gas giant BP last year. AREH is aiming to start construction in 2028 and go live in 2030 and will be built in phases, with the initial phase including 1GW of wind and solar and a 150MW hydrogen production facility at Port Headland. (Renew Economy)
Government green bank the Clean Energy Finance Corporation partnered with car makers Hyundai and Kia to subsidise finance arrangements for buyers of their EVs. It has committed $60m to give buyers of the vehicles a discount of between 0.5% and 1% off their finance rate. CEFC modelling suggests the buyer of a $70,000 EV could save over $1,900 in interest costs through the arrangement, which applies to vehicles costing up to $91,387.
The federal government has overhauled the financial underpinnings of its $5 billion Net Zero Fund (NZF), a sub-fund of the $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund (NRF), reducing internal rate of return (IRR) targets on the fund to the equivalent of the five-year Australian government bond rate (currently 4.4%) minus 1%. The change will allow the NZF to take on “more risk than commercial finance”, Minister for Industry and Innovation Tim Ayres said but the Manager of Opposition Business Alex Hawke said the changes will allow the NRF to "back losers".
After weeks of feverish speculation, resources giant Rio Tinto abandoned merger talks with rival Glencore with the two sides disagreeing over price and who would run the new business. (AFR)
Octopus Australia acquired a proposed new battery in NSW and a proposed large solar-and-battery development in Queensland, together worth more than $3 billion. The proposed 1.2GW/4.8GWh Hanworth Battery near Bowral is a $2.4 billion project which Octopus has acquired from Australian energy developer Enervest, while the 150MW/300MWh Dunmore Solar and Battery project near Toowoomba is valued at about $900 million, acquired from Samsung C&T Renewable Energy Australia.
Australians bought 183,245 home battery systems in the second half of 2025 – more than the four previous years combined, according to the Clean Energy Council’s Rooftop Solar and Storage Report for the second half of 2025. The capacity of the 454,753 installed BESS complemented the 28.3GW of solar capacity now installed across Australia – including 2.6GW of new solar capacity installed during the half year – which accounts for 14.2% of all electricity generated in Australia during the half-year.
Regulation
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AEMO could face a major overhaul after the launch of a broad review of its role that will be led by former Treasury official and IMF executive Nigel Ray. The review, which will report before the upcoming Energy and Climate Ministerial Council meeting in May, could see increased government scrutiny of budgets and board appointments, and reallocation of key responsibilities. The review will not duplicate findings relating to the NEM review recommendations, in particular where they relate to ASL, according to the terms of reference. It was agreed at a meeting of state ministers in December, the AFR reported, amid fears the market operator isn’t keeping up with the energy transition’s rapid pace of change.
Analysis from economist Simon Orme found the removal of subsidies, alongside likely further electricity network price increases above inflation from 1 July 2026, mean that electricity prices will continue to be a major driver of inflation over 2026. Using Australian Energy Regulator data he found monopoly electricity network supernormal profits were $1.37 billion in the 2024 regulatory year.
Reserve capacity prices in Western Australia are set to soar in coming years, with the state’s Economic Regulation Authority determining a draft benchmark reserve capacity price (BRCP) of $491,700/MW for the 2028/29 capacity year. That’s up 57% from the $360,700/MW price mooted for 2027/28 – and while the increase may incentivise further investment in generation capacity, Rystad Energy VP of Renewables & Power Sally Bogle warned that the price surge will “make it pretty challenging” to keep retail prices “acceptable” for large energy consumers weighing the merits of electrification.
Emerging Consumer-Regulated Electricity (CRE) policies offer a novel way of encouraging private investment “without socialising its costs,” a new CATO Institute analysis has found. The model, which is being actively considered in the US, allows privately financed, off-grid electric utilities to serve new customers who would be physically separate from the regulated grid – offering an alternative to regulated monopoly distribution while ensuring the cost burden doesn’t fall on existing customers.
State owned Western Australian energy company Synergy will this year pilot its ‘better offer’ program, which will automatically calculate and offer better energy price plans to customers experiencing financial pressure. The program, which Energy and Decarbonisation Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson called “a significant step in improving Synergy’s customer service”, is the first of nine recommendations to emerge from a review of the company’s billing practices, which grew out of revelations last year that the company had overcharged customers by $40 million.
Policy
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Minister for the Environment and Water Murray Watt launched a formal inquiry into solar panel reuse and recycling that will pave the way to nationally consistent guidelines around the handling and disposal of end-of-life panels.
Echoing the newly implemented Queensland Liberals’ Supercharged Solar for Renters policy – which provides $3,500 to landlords that install PV systems on rental properties – South Australia’s Liberal opposition pledged a $2000 rebate and $2000 interest-free loans to landlords who invest in solar systems, whose savings would be passed to tenants.
 Projects
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Queensland’s new 250MW/500MWh Swanbank Battery is now live, operating at full capacity to support peak demand in the south-east of the state. The grid-scale Tesla battery, which is located next to the Swanbank E gas-fired power station, provides enough energy to power around 355,000 homes for 2 hours.
The 100MW Wallaroo solar farm and BESS facility in the northern ACT looks set to proceed after the NSW Land and Environment Court dismissed an appeal against the project lodged by local residents Ben Faulks and Johnny Roso, who argued that the large-scale deployment over 165.45 rural hectares would affect the region’s scenic quality. Commissioner Susan O’Neill said the development is in the public interest. (Region)
Origin Energy’s 250MW Supernode BESS has been commissioned and is generating revenue, the company announced in its latest quarterly report – in which it also revealed that its 460MW Eraring BESS has been “online and generating revenue” since December. Origin is working to build a portfolio of 1.7GW of owned and tolled batteries.
Research
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Carbon pricing and taxation policies have been among the most effective emissions reduction policies adopted around the world, according to an international assessment of policies across 40 countries since 1990. The researchers say that it has been the countries with a broad mix of climate policies that have had the most success at reducing emissions, rather than those that have relied on a single measure. Looking at what each country could change to make the biggest improvements into the future, the researchers identify Australia as having high potential to improve its performance by increasing fossil fuel excise taxes. (Climate Policy)
Despite the broad and deep roster of energy companies in the NEM, debate around Australia’s climate policy is dominated by just 20 groups, according to ANU research that found mining, lobbying, banking, and research groups were most prominent in public discussions – with just two energy companies, AGL and Woodside, making the top 20. (The Conversation)
Technology
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Security specialist Dragos warned that Australia’s rapidly increasing investment in renewable DERs was expanding the potential attack targets – particularly since the rapid pace of rollouts often sees OT specialists using standard configurations that can be exploited at scale by skilled cyber criminals. (Cyberdaily.au)
Owners of properties in greenfields developments and outer suburban areas have been the most enthusiastic participants in the federal government’s Cheaper Home Batteries program, which recently passed the 200,000 household milestone six months after it was announced. An analysis of over 800 installations by clean energy company Plico found that customers were typically young families, new housing estate residents and middle-income households primarily motivated to reduce power bills averaging $244 per month.
Workforce
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The Business Council of Australia (BCA) has pushed back against the NSW government’s proposed “spy bill”, a legislative package that would give unions digital access to monitor company emails, personal information, HR and payroll systems, rostering tools, customer databases, financial records and operational information. The legislation was proposed last August but looks set to be adopted by NSW Parliament within days. Energy and resource projects, where “complex digital systems are central to operations”, would be particularly exposed, the BCA said.
Looking ahead to next week, AGL and Origin Energy will deliver their half-year results and submissions to the AEMC’s pricing review are due Friday.
