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Energy Innovation Toolkit Year in Review 2025

The second Year in Review covers the work of the Energy Innovation Toolkit team during 2025 and highlights our achievements, the regulatory explainers we published, trial waivers granted, and the tailored guidance we provided to a range of innovators. We’ve also collated the top 5 trending topics of enquiries in 2025. 

This is our second Energy Innovation Toolkit Year in Review that highlights the work we did during 2025.

This Year in Review showcases our guidance work to reduce barriers to innovation and to help innovators, community groups and industry navigate energy regulation. We also highlight the work we’ve done to support productivity in the energy sector and reduce regulatory burden over the past year. This Year in Review celebrates one year of policy-led sandboxing and the opportunity this provides to develop meaningful evidence through testing things at scale and in market.

The full report takes a look at the trial waivers granted, guidance and resources provided to innovators, and engagement undertaken in 2025, to share insights and support the energy transition.

The Energy Innovation Toolkit Year in Review discusses the 5 topics we saw a surge in requests for tailored guidance about in the past year, as well as what to look out for in 2026.

If you’d like to learn more about the work of the Energy Innovation Toolkit, download the report below.  

Energy Innovation Toolkit Year in Review 2025.pdf (pdf 617.25 KB)
Wind farm with battery storage system

2

Trial waivers granted

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11,331

Unique website visitors
 

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37

Innovation Enquiry Service responses provided

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56

Consultation submissions to the EIT in response to trial waiver applications 

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80+

External participants in 
3 public workshops
 

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14 

International and domestic engagement events in which we participated

Trending topics

The most common topics we saw in enquiries this year were: 

  1. Electric vehicle charging: was our most requested guidance topic in 2025 including regarding metering and jurisdictional differences. 

  2. Virtual power plants: both in relation to home batteries and greenfield commercial developments

  3. New landlord-tenant solar partnerships: innovators are seeking to support increased access to solar for renters.

  4. Batteries: community-scale batteries with different ownership and business models.

  5. Energy Trading: new market participants often asked about the feasibility of energy trading between participants in microgrids.