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Australia has expanded federal support for larger rooftop and on-site solar projects.

Australia has now installed its 100th community battery under the Australian Renewable Energy Agency’s Community Batteries Funding Initiative. That is a small number compared with the hundreds of thousands of batteries being installed in homes, but it marks an important shift in the way rooftop solar is starting to work.

It is easy to think of rooftop solar as a private appliance. Panels make electricity. Your home uses it. Anything left over goes to the grid.

Before we get into the news, a quick note. Watts Weekly missed its usual Wednesday edition last week. Rather than publish two thin posts or pretend nothing happened, this is one combined catch-up covering the two weeks from 3 to 16 August.

Australia is a world leader in rooftop solar, but that leadership has largely been driven by households. According to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, residential solar capacity in Australia sits at roughly 22 gigawatts. Businesses have installed only about 5.6 gigawatts, mostly in smaller systems below 100 kilowatts.

This week, Australia’s Clean Energy Regulator made an announcement that sounds like industry paperwork, but it should matter to every solar and battery owner.

Australia’s energy transition just passed a genuinely big milestone. The Australian Energy Market Operator, AEMO, confirmed this week that 9.1 gigawatts of new generation and storage capacity reached full output in the National Electricity Market during FY26. That is more than double the capacity that reached full output in FY25.

Australia is officially offering free electricity. From 1 July 2026, the regulated Solar Sharer Offer requires retailers with more than 1,000 customers across eligible regions to make a plan available with three hours of free power in the middle of every day.

About 20% of Australia's 4.15 million rooftop solar systems are underperforming, non-compliant, or completely offline. Most owners have no idea. Here's what's going on — and what to do about it.

The Australian solar industry moves faster than the coverage of it. Watts Weekly is my attempt to close that gap — one issue at a time.

Home battery attachment rates just crossed 50% on new solar installs. The industry — installers, retailers, networks — is not ready for what comes next.

The STC scheme is winding down and a new federal battery incentive replaces part of it. Here is what actually changes for a household buying solar in 2026.

Homeowners obsess over panel brands. The failure data says they should be obsessing over the inverter. Here is what the fault data actually shows.