Market Update | 30 May 2025

• Energy-Efficient Homes Command Price Premiums Across Australia, New Report Reveals
• Clean Energy Australia’s 2025 Reporting Record Breaking Year for Renewable Energy Investments

VEU Issues a Compliance Alert for Commercial Heat Pumps & Lighting.

This week the VEU issued a compliance alert notifying of increased monitoring of both Commercial Heat Pump and Lighting activities after a series of identified non-compliance. This comes a week after the program’s legislation was updated to extend the Commission’s enforcement powers – including the ability to address non-compliance with installers and scheme companies directly. This change aims to stop companies from submitting misleading or fraudulent evidence to multiple Accredited Persons without regulatory consequence. 

Energy-Efficient Homes Command Price Premiums Across Australia.

Australian homes featuring energy-efficient (EE) upgrades are fetching substantially higher prices, with a new Domain report for 2025 detailing the significant financial benefits for sellers. Amidst rising energy costs, buyer demand for properties with lower running expenses is driving a clear market trend, with 52.2% of houses and 39.1% of units listed last year specifically highlighting EE features. The Sustainability in Property Report 2025 indicates that EE houses are selling for an average of 14.5% more ($118,000 difference), while EE units command a 12% premium ($75,000). Premiums vary by capital, with Melbourne houses seeing a high of 23.8% ($197,000), and regional areas boasting even larger uplifts, averaging 21.3% for houses and a striking 30.8% for units. While solar remains the most common EE feature, the report highlights north-facing homes as adding the highest median value nationally ($375,500), followed by double glazing.

Record Breaking Year for Renewable Energy Investments.

From the released Clean Energy Australia’s 2025 reporting, Australia’s clean energy sector experienced an unprecedented surge in 2024, with a record $12.7 billion invested, marking the largest single year of clean energy investment in the nation’s history. 

This included a substantial $9 billion directed towards large-scale renewable generation – the highest since 2018 – and $5.9 billion specifically for onshore wind, a record since 2017. As of late 2024, over 8.7 GW / 23.3 GWh of large-scale battery capacity was under construction, equivalent to more than a third of Australia’s combined coal-fired power station output. 

While the first quarter of 2025 saw a typical seasonal slowdown in new financial commitments for large-scale generation, the remarkable run of investment in energy storage continued, with six projects totalling 1,510 MW / 5,016 MWh reaching financial close – the second-highest quarterly result ever for storage. The robust pipeline of 82 financially committed or under-construction generation projects (12,544 MW) and 69 storage projects (12,532 MW / 32,078 MWh), combined with recent political stability and supportive policies like the Capacity Investment Scheme, instills strong optimism for accelerating investment.

At Ecovantage, we consistently analyse market activity, policy changes, consultation releases, and creation rates in conjunction with wider landscape activity. This allows us to keep our clients at the forefront of all relevant changes, and to leverage the advantage that this presents. Thank you for your continued support, and please reach out if you have any general or project-specific questions.

Nancy Sanjoto | Account Manager, Energy & Carbon Services
Nancy specialises in HEER & IHEAB activities under the NSW ESS program, as well as LGCs under the federal Renewable Energy Target.