In this Weekly Dispatch:
- IEEFA finds just 5.6 GW of solar sits on Australian commercial and industrial rooftops today against a forecast 17–31 GW by 2050, with the “missing middle” stalled by patchy incentives, inconsistent network tariffs and slow grid connections.
- Transgrid has energised EnergyConnect, the 900 km interconnector linking NSW, Victoria and South Australia, adding 800 MW of transfer capacity and room for 2 GW-plus of new renewables.
- ARENA is tipping in another $13.6 million to scale its vehicle-to-grid trial to 1,000 households (total funding now $16.8 million), with BYD leading work to resolve carmakers’ battery-warranty concerns.
- The Australian Energy Council looks to Ireland’s new rule forcing data centres to source 80% of demand from additional renewables, as local data-centre load is tipped to climb from about 2% of NEM consumption to 12% by 2050.
- NOAA has declared El Niño underway with the equatorial Pacific at record-warm early-June levels, signalling a hotter, drier summer that lifts cooling demand and bushfire risk across the grid.
- The AFR warns slow renewables and transmission build is leaving consumers poorer, citing Net Zero Australia findings that large-scale wind now takes around eight years, and solar farms over five, to develop.
- Sembcorp industries completes acquisition of Alinta Energy.
- METI is proposing a new subsidy scheme for CCS projects to cover up to 75% of construction costs with the scheme implemented from FY2027.
- Podcast of the week: Columbia Energy Exchange chat about the transition slowing down