‘You cannot build a whole electricity system purely on solar hybrids’: Squadron Energy CEO warns

In brief

Australia’s renewable energy transition has passed a significant milestone, with renewables and storage supplying more than half of electricity demand in the National Electricity Market during the final quarter of 2025. Solar, batteries and hybrid projects continue to attract investment because their economics are comparatively strong, but industry leaders warned that relying too heavily on solar-plus-storage would create an inefficient system. Squadron Energy CEO Rob Wheals said the company’s analysis indicates that a grid based entirely on solar hybrids would require roughly five times more infrastructure, highlighting the need for a broader mix that includes wind, long-duration storage and other firming technologies.

Speakers at the Australian Clean Energy Summit also stressed that clearer and more dependable investment signals are needed to attract global capital. Capacity Investment Scheme Agreements and Long-Term Energy Service Agreements have become central to project financing by providing revenue certainty, although support must be directed toward viable projects rather than speculative proposals. The panel also identified data centres as a major opportunity: forecast demand could add around 12 TWh of electricity consumption by 2030, potentially accelerating investment in generation, storage and transmission if facilities are encouraged to locate near renewable projects and procure clean-energy certificates.

Source: Energy-Storage.News

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