Solar panelled homes are worth more
A new report by Cotality finds that homes with solar power systems are valued 2.7 per cent more than homes without, which at the national average means around $23,100 more.
According to report calculations, each NatHERS (Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme) star rating creates a median uplift of about 1.3 per cent in a home’s national value, which is roughly $10,560 per star.
Nationally, 29 per cent of houses have rooftop solar installed, but coverage exceeds 40 per cent in Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane. Meanwhile, Hobart, regional Victoria and regional Tasmania fall below 20 per cent.
GBCA joins global database
The Green Building Council of Australia is partnering with global real estate sustainability database Measurabl to make the nation’s Green Star building certifications accessible across the globe through its platform.
The move to integrate Australia’s certification into the platforms allows for better benchmarking, fuller transparency and comparability to other countries’ green building certifications for investors and lenders, the GBCA said. Already available on the platform is the US’s LEED certifications, the UK’s BREEAM certification and Japan’s CASBEE certification.
The platform aims to establish a standardised, investor-grade sustainability data infrastructure.
The next generation of energy experts
As Australia is about to face a critical skills shortfall in the clean energy transition, including for sparkies and other workers in energy, gas and renewables, there are two programs trying to rouse interest in energy careers in high schools.
This includes NET Z(ED) in NSW, a secondary school program that aims to educate students on trades and energy career pathways. The program creates short and easily deployable lesson plans for Year 7 to 10 students.
The first is on designing photovoltaic systems is now spread across the geography, science and maths curriculum. The lesson was curated by Professor Paul Dastoor, founder of Kardinia Energy, provider of lightweight and flexible printed solar, teaching fundamentals of energy, power and economics of designing the systems.
The other program is NEOEN’s Learning Hub & Futureville game, distributed to Year 9 to 12 students at schools and community fairs to educate students about the renewable energy sector. The gameplay includes navigating around a regional town to meet different people working in the renewable sector, learning how a wind farm works and running a community engagement session.
DCCEWW busts illegal tyre waste smugglers
The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) recently intercepted 10 shipping containers of illegal tyre waste after the Australian Border Force detected a 280 tonne shipment of tyre waste leaving from Sydney to Malaysia.
The content included a mixture of non-compliant baled waste tyres and bags of shredded waste tyre pieces. Following the inspection, the Melbourne-based tyre exporter has been ordered to deal with the non-compliance and must collect the containers from the facility at their own cost. They must also pay container detention, inspection and transport costs, estimated to exceed $30,000, and are responsible for any additional costs to process the tyres to legal standards.
The department said it aims to stop exporters from taking advantage of markets that don’t apply the same recycling standards for higher profits “at the expense of the environment.” It warns that anyone found doing the same can face up to five years imprisonment and fines of up to $198,000 for individuals and $990,000 for a company.
Since implementing the rules, the department has intercepted 61 shipping containers over 14 separate consignments by both licensed and unlicensed holders, stopping 1700 tonnes of illegal waste tyres from leaving the country.
Sustainable finance on the rise
In the latest issue of ING Bank’s quarterly sustainable finance review, the bank said it had mobilised €68 billion (A$120 billion) in sustainable finance in the first half of 2025 for green loans and sustainability linked finance. Much of this is taken up by Singapore, where corporates and financials are stepping up financing decarbonisation.
In terms of growth, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) accounts for 61 per cent of the growth, the Americas 26 per cent and the Asia-Pacific accounting for 13 per cent – with regional variations.
In the US, financing issuance contracted due to reduced policy support, whereas the EU has shifted focus towards competitiveness. Meanwhile, APAC is on track for a record breaking year.
EVs surging ahead in China
The ING report also said that China is leading the EV transition, with EVs expected to reach nearly 50 per cent of new car sales by 2025, followed by Europe at 20 per cent and the US at 10 per cent. Global penetration remains low at 5 per cent due to infrastructure gaps, particularly in Southern and Eastern Europe, where Germany records 23 EVs per charger.
What we’re reading
Second hand EV battery industry on the rise
According to Pickles Auction, buyers of second hand EV batteries are emerging with certain buyers repurposing them for everything from solar storage units to off grid energy system to replace diesel generators, thanks to car batteries storing five times as much as the average home battery.
The auction house said it was selling around 100 salvaged EVs every month, in an industry that emerged only in the past 18 months, according to an article in The Guardian.
Andrew Chadwick, a lithium battery repair specialist at Second Life Battery Sales, said solar batteries required a lot less output than EVs, so even if the battery is no longer good for EVs, for example, at 70 per cent capacity, it would be perfect for a solar system with a “little finessing.”
Sale values are current $9000 to $14,000 for a battery with an average age of 2.5 years and less than 15,000 kilometres travelled, and $2500-$6500 for an average age of 12 year and an average of 130,000 km travelled.
Jobs news
Brisbane City Council has appointed Juliet Alabaster as City Parkland’s new CEO, starting 27 October.
Alabaster is currently the chief operating officer at the Brisbane Economic Development Agency and has spent three years on the board of City Parklands. She is also currently a board director on the Queensland Tourism Industry Council. Brisbane Mayor Adrian Schrinner added that with Alabaster’s appointment, two thirds of the council’s subsidiaries are now run by women.
Law firm Baker & McKenzie is looking for an Associate – Commercial Real Estate (Environment & Planning), who will join the Environment and Climate Change team led by Sam Allam. “Disruptors encouraged. Insurgents preferred,” for the candidate, Allam said on social media. “It’s the job a million girls would kill for”.