The sense of optimism within Australia’s renewable energy sector was on display at All Energy Australia 2026 conference and trade show in Melbourne on Oct. 28 and 29, where energy security, growing demand, and investment and market certainty featured prominently in discussions.
Batteries were also a major topic of conversation with the strong presence of both grid and small-scale battery suppliers on the expanded exhibition floor showcasing a growing confidence in the market.
RX Global, which organises All Energy alongside the Clean Energy Council (CEC), said more than 22,000 people attended the event this year – up about 5,000 on 2025 figures – and more than 490 national and international companies and organisations exhibited on the trade show floor.
Batteries big and small were prominent among the displays with exhibitors keen to be part of the surging small and grid-scale markets.
More than 550,000 residential battery systems have been installed by Australian homeowners in the 15 months since the launch of the federal government’s Cheaper Home Batteries program – that subsidises approximately 30% of the cost of an eligible home energy-storage system. The growth pattern has steadied since the initial boom in installations, but the industry is confident there is still plenty of upside in the small-scale sector.
“Residential has stabilised over the past few months but there is still a lot of potential in that segment,” EP Cube Sales Manager Sudeesh V said. “Metropolitan areas like Melbourne and Sydney might be slowing but areas such as South Australia, Western Australia, Queensland, even the Northern Territory, there’s a lot of growth potential.”
The large-scale battery sector is also experiencing record growth with nine projects representing 2.3 GW / 7.1 GWh of storage capacity switched on in the first six months of the year, surpassing the 2 GW / 5.1 GWh added during 2025. In addition, 13 projects totalling 1.6 GW / 6.5 GWh reached financial close in H1 2026.
“We see a very, very significant penetration of battery storage and looking ahead, we’ll see this scaling up even more,” Rystad Energy Renewables and Power Vice President Sally Bogle said, adding that battery energy storage systems are serving as “a silver bullet for the power market.”
“They have quite a multi-faceted role,” she said, highlighting their ability to mitigate the curtailment of daytime solar in our markets.
“Asset performance wise, that is really, really valuable,” she said. “It allows a solar or wind facility to really maximise their asset and optimise the grid connection.”
The outlook for Australia’s solar market is also buoyant with the federal government’s recent raising of the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES) eligibility cap from 100 kW to 1 MW tipped to drive growth in the commercial and industrial (C&I) segment.
The expansion extends financial incentives through the Small-scale Technology Certificate (STC) mechanism, reducing the upfront cost of qualifying mid-scale systems by approximately 20%.
“This will definitely unlock a lot of small to medium commercial projects,” said Charles Guo, Australian manager with module manufacturer Gorkin Solar.
Government policy appears to be accelerating large-scale solar development also. Australia is targeting 82% renewables share in the National Electricity Market (NEM) by 2030 while Western Australia recently committed to a renewable energy target of 75% by 2031 for its main electricity grid.
Australian Energy Market Operator data shows a record 80.9 GW of new generation and storage projects now in the pipeline but as ageing coal-fired power plants retire and electricity consumption forecast to grow by more than 40% over the next decade, getting new capacity built will be critical.
Victorian Energy Minister Jaclyn Symes said Australia said capital is available but providing investors with certainty is key.
“Investors need clear policy, predictable approvals, and confidence that the infrastructure connecting projects will be delivered,” she said.
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