Daniel Mercer

Amid soaring prices and rising levels of energy hardship, the regulator wants to strengthen the protections for vulnerable customers. 

The benefits of extremely low energy prices during the day are "washed away" by extremely high ones after dark. But there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Even as Australia appears to have passed the peak of solar uptake, demand for batteries is seemingly headed into orbit.

Amid fits and starts, Australia's energy transition turned a big corner in 2025, as renewables shot past fossil fuels despite demand records.

Since 2022, the WA government has already tipped $300 million into propping up the insolvent Indian-owned miner, which is more than $1 billion in debt.

In a move labelled a sign of the times, energy firm AGL was last week offering customers money to cut use during a heatwave.

For so long, the pounding sunshine of an Australian heatwave was the grid's biggest threat. It has now become its greatest asset. 

Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen announces big changes to the government's battery subsidy scheme amid claims most of its $2.3 billion budget has been spent in just six months.

Australians' electricity bills have become a nightmare of complexity and high prices. An energy regulator says subscription fees could be an answer.

Australia must lean more heavily on solar farms, big batteries and households installing clean technology if it wants to hit its green energy goals by the end of the decade. 

Soaring costs and trenchant criticism from some put the brakes on wind and transmission as the sun shines on big solar and batteries.

Electricity prices are back in the headlines as the cost of the transition away from fossil fuels and to renewable energy becomes a political football.

An energy watchdog says more renewable energy is projected to lower prices, but others warn the promise is illusory and more pain is coming.

It is held up as the "gold standard" of music testing in the country, but there are claims the Australian Music Examinations Board is letting down talented students.

Countries across the globe are racing to rewire their electricity systems for a decarbonised future. In Australia, delays are mounting, along with doubts about whether it can meet goals on schedule.

In a move that has been welcomed by climate campaigners, South Korea has vowed to phase out coal, sparking a warning for Australian exporters.

Amid swirling debate among conservative politicians over decarbonisation, energy bosses have warned against turning away from net zero despite cost pressures.

During the middle of the day Australia's household solar is often meeting most of the country's energy needs. 

Mountains of clean power are regularly "wasted" as Australia's energy system evolves. But a large amount of battery storage is waiting in the wings, ready to soak it up.

Under its new 2035 climate target, Australia will be pushing for deeper emissions cuts, and fundamental to those plans are transmission lines.

Touted as a model for the energy transition, a "quick and easy" high-voltage powerline project linking South Australia directly to New South Wales is running dramatically over time and over budget.

The WA government is facing fresh questions over its bailout of Griffin Coal — a mine critical to the state's energy system — amid revelations taxpayer money is leaking offshore.

The rapid uptake of solar panels, batteries and other clean tech is often touted as a great Australian success story… a consumer-led revolution that will help cut costs and lower emissions.

In the same way Apple and Samsung used different phone chargers, many clean tech products are not compatible with others. Experts say it is a big problem for the energy transition.

Efforts by WA's government to force the premature closure of a privately owned coal plant appear to be unravelling after the market operator backed the power station to keep running towards the end of the decade.