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- Beautiful free image by Barbara Brown via Pexels |
Sun Day –Not everyone celebrates Sun Day on September 21 -22. Some do not celebrate it all and others such as the USA do so on a different date and the UN’s own day is the Solstice – June 21. Regardless, this weekend is the day the day that many parts of the world celebrate solar energy.
Australia certainly should as it is now being recognised as a global leader, not only for its rapid adoption of rooftop solar, but for its clean energy policy. Not bad after being labelled the worst on a global list of 57 countries in 2019. Marvellous what a change of government will do, not that you will read about it in our mainstream newspapers.
In 2025, Australia became the third largest market for utility scale batteries after China and the United States. The uptake of subsidised home batteries has been so successful that subsidies on larger ones have now had to be restricted. On the other hand, the latest push is to help small businesses, farmers and community organisations to go solar through the government's "Putting More Roofs to Work" plan so that they too can reduce their power bills.
Its Small Scale Renewable Energy Scheme which starts in October 2026, is expected to cut upfront installation costs for commercial, industrial and agricultural buildings by around 20% and will include logistics centres, hospitals and schools. Also underway, is an AI mediated pilot program in Sydney to enable Australia’s 2.5 million apartment dwellers to tap into the savings which have previously only been available to home owners with rooftop solar.
Help for Renters
Another initiative which will also help renters as well as home owners, is an offer of three hours of free power during the midday hours. At present it is only available to residential customers in NSW, SA and South East Queensland, but it is expected to be extended in future. If you are lucky enough to be home at that time of the day or can set a timer, that would be a great time to do the laundry, batch cooking, run the air-con or heating, or charge your car, but you do need a smart meter and have to opt in to the Solar Sharer Plan.
Solar for Social Housing
Australian non-profit, Solar Citizens has also had a number of victories this year including extension of the home battery discount until 2030, along with the tax concession on EVs and funding for upgrades to social housing stock so that those who can least afford to participate in the solar revolution are not left out.
Data Centres
The Australian government is calling for data centres to BYO (a term we use for bringing your own alcohol to a party) their own renewable energy, or at least contribute to its continued rollout. Some backward-looking states with more right wing governments such as Queensland and the Northern Territory have decided to defy this and take us backwards again, which is rather ironic, given that they are the sunniest states of all.
Transport
Queensland's Liberal state government (that's right wing in Australia) is also cancelling its order of 630 electric buses. I shouldn't be airing our internecine dirty linen in an international post, but it is so counter-productive, and more of the same is being promoted in One Nation's electoral pitch, that I simply must mention it. Meanwhile, other states such as New South Wales and Victoria are doubling down. NSW has around 220 electric buses already in service and 921 on order. South Australia has just built a 60 station charging hub to service its 55 and growing electric fleet and Western Australia is not only adding to its fleet but has just switched to building electric buses.
Trucking
The Federal Government is now turning its attention to electrifying trucking which is such an essential business in a country as vast as ours and underpins almost every industry from mining, to agriculture to supermarket deliveries.
While our biggest miners RIO and BHP, are testing battery electric trucks and BHP is also trialling battery electric locomotives at Port Hedland, iron ore miner, Fortescue is already using battery electric trucks and two locomotives in its Pilbara operations all powered by its own renewable energy network. It also has 2 electric excavators, an electric drill and 6 MW fast chargers designed to recharge a 240 tonne haul truck in under 30 minutes. When the changeover is complete it expects to have 350 haultrucks, 80 excavators and 70 drills operating and the company expects to save around 1 billion litres of diesel per year.
China and the EU are doing it too. The rising cost of diesel and the uncertainty of supply brought on by the turmoil in the Strait of Hormuz, concentrates the mind wonderfully. China's heavy-truck plan targets 40% of new heavy-truck sales by 2030 and a fleet of over 1.6 million new-energy heavy-duty trucks, backed by thousands of dedicated charging and battery-swap stations.
Of course China never does anything by halves. At its Yimin open cut coal mine in Inner Mongolia, it has 100 autonomous battery electric trucks operating around the clock with another 200 to follow. They automatically take themselves to the charging station and a robotic arm switches batteries in 6 minutes and they are charged by a solar array, despite minus 40°C temperatures.
Germany has committed €1.6 billion to electric truck charging infrastructure, and logistics giant DHL aims to electrify 66% of its last-mile fleet by 2030.
Shipping
A 2024 Australian report from the Superpower Institute says about 40% of shipping currently carries fossil fuels — oil, coal and gas — and that this segment would largely disappear as the world decarbonises.
Additionally, a recent scientific study found that by 2030, roughly 30% of maritime energy consumption could technically be electrified, covering nearly 20% of maritime GHG emissions. That's mainly short-sea/inland shipping rather than the huge ocean-going ships. The world’s largest electric ferry – made in Tasmania, has just been delivered to Argentina. What's more it was even built using renewable energy, although in this case, hydro.
Another Nature Energy study found that more than 40% of global containership traffic could potentially be electrified cost-effectively with current technology under suitable conditions.
A few other snippets follow to annoy those who are saying we should abandon the quest for Net Zero, just as it is starting to pay off. The global picture is also a lot more encouraging than you might think.
More Good News on Solar from around the World
- Solar made up over 75% of all new renewable generation capacity added worldwide in 2024, and is forecast at around 80% of renewable capacity growth through 2030.
- Clean energy jobs are now growing far faster than fossil fuel jobs worldwide, with the global energy sector employing 76 million people in 2024.
- 81% of new renewable power projects built in 2023 delivered cheaper electricity than any fossil fuel option.
- European coal-fired power generation has fallen by 61% over the past decade, driven by the growth of wind and solar
- Almost two-thirds of all primary fossil energy is wasted before it does any useful work — worth over $4.5 trillion a year, around 5% of global GDP.
Solar Fences
Plug-In Solar
Carpark Solar Rollout
French legislation requiring large parking lots to be covered with solar panels has now come into force as of July 2026. This is expected to add up to 11.25 GW of solar capacity, which is roughly comparable to the output of about 10 nuclear reactors. This is just as well since several nuclear plants had to be shut down in the recent heatwave due to inability to provide sufficient cooling water. Nuclear power stations in Hungary and Romania also faced cuts due to falling water levels in the Danube.
Schools
Florida is currently targeting schools, businesses and farms* for solar. Tampa Bay Solar has just completed one of the state's largest school rooftop solar projects at Manatee School for the Arts, aiming for a 90% cut in the school's utility costs, and are pitching farms on solar-powered irrigation paired with battery storage to keep pumps running through hurricane season outages.
Speaking of schools, in fairness to Queensland, I should mention that it has put 190,000 solar panels on its 912 state schools to help with the cost of running air conditioning - saving approximately $26m in electricity costs.
New South Wales' Smart Energy Schools pilot programme for schools is not just about saving schools money, but using them to generate, store and share renewable energy with the wider community.
While a lot of the data - see for example the work by Parents for Climate's "Solar our Schools" campaign, focuses on the cost savings to be made and even the employment opportunities - check out their fact sheets and case studies, there are also several studies which show that learning suffers when temperatures rise. An analysis of 18 studies concluded that in temperate climates, student performance increased by an average of 20% when the classroom temperature was lowered from 30°C to 20°C, with optimal performance achieved at temperatures below 22°C. (If you are an Aussie, don't forget to sign Parents for Climate's schools petition).
*Farmers
While we're on the subject of farmers, don't be fooled into thinking they'll be better off without Net Zero. Diesel isn't getting any cheaper, and plenty of farmers are already earning more from a handful of wind turbines than from the paddock itself — often the most reliable income on the farm, drought or no drought.
Wind turbine payments to Australian farmers are now typically over $40,000 per turbine per year, and are expected to reach $1 billion by 2030. Many farmers host dozens while continuing to run sheep or cattle on the same land — sheep grazing under solar panels is common and, according to some studies, may even improve wool quality (better shade in summer, wind break in winter).
Don't be misled again. Why not go out there and try it. Take a Shark ute for a spin, look over some open homes with solar and batteries already fitted, or wander through a trade show. You'll be surprised how far everything has come, and how much more affordable it is — all while bringing your power bills down. I rather like the slogan used by Whittier (USA) last year as its Sun Day theme:
“Drive Electric, Live Electric, Vote for the Sun,”
Thanks to Claude for finding references, proofreading and long discussions and ChatGPT and Ecosia for additional information
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