This week the home battery program hit new highs while grid-scale wind and solar projects reaching a final investment decision hit a new low.
Capital
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More than 100,000 home batteries, amounting to 2GWh of storage, have been plugged in under the $2.3 billion dollar cheaper home batteries program. And the average system size is getting bigger, with the seven-day moving average close to 25kWh, compared to average household consumption of 12kWh per day.
Australia's biggest aluminium smelter, Rio Tinto’s (ASX: RIO) Tomago in the Hunter region of NSW, foreshadowed a closure in 2029, citing rising electricity costs. Meanwhile, NSW Premier Chris Minns threatened compulsory acquisition of farmland to get Narrabri gas moving to save the smelter.
Higher renewable energy output — 11% growth in rooftop solar and a 16% rise for both wind and grid-scale solar — and less market volatility lowered wholesale prices in the NEM. New generation and storage projects connecting to the national electricity market (NEM) are offsetting demand growth, with 1,600MW commissioned and hitting full output in Q3, according to the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO).
For the fourth year in a row, banks are making more money providing loans and underwriting bond sales for green-related projects than they’re earning from fossil fuel companies. (Bloomberg)
US President Donald Trump signed deals on critical minerals with Thailand and Malaysia at the ASEAN Summit to further counteract China’s export controls.
Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) launched a trial of battery-swap electric haul truck technology at the world’s fourth-largest copper mine, Oyu Tolgoi in Mongolia. Battery swapping technology allows the battery of an electric mining truck to be replaced at a battery swap station in less than seven minutes, without the need to charge the vehicle at a fixed charging facility.
Policy
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Environment Minister Murray Watt included released an environmental protection package including a crackdown on “lawfare” with a new 28-day limit for third parties to request a reconsideration of a decision that a project is a controlled action. The seven bills also include a new ministerial power to make national environmental standards, a centrepiece of the Samuel review, and a definition of “unacceptable impacts” to save time on no-go projects. The proposed changes won’t escape a committee inquiry, which is due to report back next March — missing the Minister’s Christmas deadline.
South Australia announced $17.5 million in matched funding for gas projects to shore up future supplies. The Australian Energy Market Operator’s (AEMO) Gas Statement of Opportunities forecast risks of peak day gas shortfall from 2028, and structural supply gaps emerging from 2029. The new Gas Security Infrastructure Fund follows the state’s deal with AGL to extend the life of Torrens Island B gas-fired power station beyond 2026 to boost electricity supply and capacity.
The Clean Energy Council (CEC) and the Queensland Renewable Energy Council (QREC) launched a national approach to decommissioning renewable energy assets to balance the needs of farmers and project viability.
Queensland’s Energy and Water Ombudsman reported spikes in complaints related to energy bills, in the quarter following the end of cost of living relief from the state government. It closed a total of 2,580 cases in the July to September quarter, an increase of 18.3%compared to the previous quarter.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Energy Minister Chris Bowen were urged to expand the Hydrogen Headstart and the Hydrogen Production Tax Incentive to include renewable gas. A joint open letter from the Renewable Gas Alliance warns current policy settings risk leaving a proven and scalable technology on the sidelines, even though it has been recognised as useful in reducing emissions across multiple sectoral plans.
Energy systems
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NSW secured critical grid-stabilising machines following the state government’s direction to Transgrid to accelerate procurement of the synchronous condensers as a Priority Network Infrastructure Project. The fast-tracked contract with GE Vernova for smaller units shaves two years off the delivery schedule for this equipment, identified as critical for system strength. A tender for stabilising services from grid-forming batteries is next.
AEMO continued to trial new approaches to maintain power system security as the grid transitions to high renewables, commencing procurement and directly requesting offers to deliver the Type 2 transitional services trials. Statements of Need have been issued for Black Start from inverter-based resources (IBRs), System Restart under High DPV Conditions, Grid-Forming Inverter Protection-Quality Fault Current, and Zero Synchronous Generation.
 Projects
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Tilt Renewables signed a 15-year, fixed-price Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with AGL Energy (ASX: AGL) for 100% of the generation from the proposed 108MW Waddi Wind Farm, located 150km north of Perth — the first long-term wind PPA for AGL’s Perth arm.
Payments of $200,000 per km will be paid to landholders as part of Stage 1 of the North West Transmission Developments (NWTD) required for Project Marinus, Tasmania’s Premier Jeremy Rockliff and Energy Minister Nick Duigan announced.
A 400MW battery energy storage system (BESS) located near Chinchilla, in the electorate of Nationals’ leader David Littleproud, has been approved by the federal government in just 19 days. The Belah BESS will be adjacent to the Edenvale Solar Park and connect to the existing Orana substation via an underground transmission line.
Wind generation in South Australia is set to increase by 20% through the inauguration of Neoen’s Goyder South wind farm.
The number of grid-scale wind and solar projects reaching a final investment decision is at its lowest level in nearly a decade, despite a major push from governments to speed up the pace of the rollout. Figures published by the Clean Energy Regulator in October show that not a single large-scale clean energy project reached financial closure in the third quarter of 2025.
Regulation
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More regulatory work and possibly a separate entity are required to protect consumers from monopolies seeking to compete in new markets, said Climate Change Authority Chair Matt Kean, as network service provider Ausgrid makes its case to play a greater role in the energy transition.
With residential gas demand expected to fall by 70% over the next two decades, the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) released a draft determination on a national framework for customers who want to stop supply to their property. “Our analysis found that making a customer who is leaving the gas network pay the real cost of disconnection is more equitable than spreading these costs across remaining customers, who are often those with fewer choices about their energy supply,” AEMC Chair Anna Collyer said, while conceding this approach might be a barrier for households wanting to electrify.
The Energy Market Authority (EMA) of Singapore and Australian Energy Regulator (AER) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on regulatory and energy cooperation.
The ACCC granted authorisation for the South Australian Chamber of Mines and Energy and participating members to form a joint electricity buying group, to pool their electricity demand, conduct a joint tender, and individually enter into a supply agreement.
Technology
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Energy tech startup SolarCloud has developed a platform that uses a sharing-economy model to redistribute underused rooftop solar to renters, apartment dwellers and others who’ve been missing out on the benefits of cheaper, cleaner energy. Customers can invest in one panel at a time, with no roof required, and it’s portable if you move house, CEO and Founder John Kennedy said. Following two years of pilot testing and the completion of its regulatory licensing, users can purchase virtual panels hosted on commercial rooftops, with generation credits applied directly to their electricity bill.
Climate
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Experts from consultancy Climate Resource crunched the numbers on what the so-far announced 2035 nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and longer-term net-zero targets will mean for warming, and said while 1.9°C is looking increasingly likely, extending renewable energy, energy efficiency and methane emission reduction targets to 2035 could make a big difference.
Meanwhile, energy market analyst Wood Mackenzie said global net zero by 2050 was now “impossible” and the world is on course for temperature rises of 2.6 degrees Celsius. The Energy Transition Outlook 2025-2026 says that a 2°C warming limit would require US$4.3 trillion in annual investment between 2025-2060 and reaching net zero emissions by around 2060. Energy sector investment must grow from 2.5% of global GDP today to 3.35% within the next decade.
Research
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After reviewing 318 existing research papers on the use of artificial intelligence in energy, Canadian researchers concluded AI can significantly advance the capabilities of smart grids, improving real-time decision-making and adaptive fault detection.
Looking ahead to next week, Parliament is sitting and Merryn York, who has led system design at market operator, will deliver the ANU Solar Oration on building grid resilience in a renewable world.
