Supply Solar Named a Finalist in the 2026 AFR Energy Awards
Recognised in the Sustainability category for “Save Energy Save Life: Australia’s Circular Solar Economy”
We’re proud to share some great news: Supply Solar has been named a Finalist in the Sustainability category at the 2026 Financial Review Energy Awards, presented by Jemena. Our entry, “Save Energy Save Life: Australia’s Circular Solar Economy,” was recognised alongside some of the biggest names in Australian energy, a genuinely proud moment for our whole team.
Being shortlisted in a national awards program run by The Australian Financial Review is a meaningful milestone for a Melbourne-based solar and battery installer, and it reflects years of work on an issue most of the industry has yet to properly address: what happens to solar panels once a home decides to upgrade.
A National Stage for Sustainability
The Financial Review Energy Awards recognise organisations driving Australia’s energy transition across categories including Sustainability, Innovation, and Wellbeing, Health & Safety. The Sustainability category for 2026 was a genuinely competitive field, with the winner and finalists listed below.
| Result | Company | Entry |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Delorean Corporation | Australia’s first mains-grade biomethane and biogenic CO₂ project from food waste |
| Finalist | Viva Energy | Leading Australia’s sustainable aviation fuel transition |
| Finalist | Santos (with Beach Energy) | Moomba carbon capture and storage |
| Finalist | Yindjibarndi Energy Corporation | Jinbi Solar Project |
| Finalist | Supply Solar | Save Energy Save Life: Australia’s circular solar economy |
The Entry: Save Energy Save Life
Our award entry centred on the Save Energy Save Life initiative, a program founded by Supply Solar in 2021 to tackle a problem the solar industry has largely overlooked: Australia’s growing stockpile of discarded solar panels that are, in most cases, still perfectly capable of generating electricity.
As more Victorian and Australian homes upgrade from older systems to larger, higher-efficiency panels, see our comparison of 6.6kW, 10kW, 13kW and 20kW solar system sizes, the panels being removed are frequently only five to ten years old, leaving another decade or more of useful life still in them. Rather than see that capacity go to landfill, Supply Solar built a process to collect, test, and redistribute used panels, batteries, and inverters, giving them a genuine second life.
The long-term vision behind the initiative is a national one: Supply Solar is working toward collection and storage facilities in every Australian state, creating a coordinated network for used panels, batteries, and inverters rather than the fragmented, ad-hoc disposal that currently dominates the industry.
Why This Matters
- A growing problem, hiding in plain sight. Millions of solar panels installed during Australia’s early rooftop solar boom are now approaching replacement age, and without a proper recovery pathway, most still-functional panels are simply scrapped.
- Circular economy, applied practically. Reusing panels that already have years of productive life left avoids the embodied carbon and resources of manufacturing new ones, a genuinely circular approach to the clean energy transition.
- Built for where the industry is heading. As Australia’s installed solar base matures, a formal, national system for collection and reuse will matter more each year, not less.
A Proud Moment for Our Team
Standing as a Finalist alongside organisations like Viva Energy, Santos, and Yindjibarndi Energy Corporation is a significant validation for a Melbourne-based solar and battery installer, and a credit to everyone on the Supply Solar team who has helped build the Save Energy Save Life initiative from an idea into a real, operating program.
We want to thank The Australian Financial Review and Jemena for recognising this work, and more importantly, thank the customers and partners who’ve trusted us with their systems and their trade-ins along the way. This recognition doesn’t change what we’re focused on: building a genuinely circular future for solar in Australia, one panel at a time.
Want to learn more about the Save Energy Save Life initiative, or trade in your old solar system? Get in touch with our team.
