How to save money by trading solar energy online

Australia is putting its abundant sunshine to good use. This is the second instalment in our two-part series on how consumers are reaping the financial benefits of solar despite plummeting feed-in tariffs.

In Moss Vale, NSW, the sun isn't shining. It's a foggy morning and the heater's on.

But Chris McGuigan isn't worried about her energy bill. She's buying cheap solar power from a home in sunny South Australia.

McGuigan is one of about 40 members of a growing virtual energy network (VEN), a digital platform that lets households and small businesses buy and sell excess solar energy.

While the project began in Wingecarribee Shire in the NSW Southern Highlands, it now stretches across the country.

Members are based everywhere from inner-city Sydney to regional Queensland.

"It's a paradigm shift really," says McGuigan, who's part of the community climate action group WinZero, which launched the pilot.

"To share power between those with and without the means to generate for their own needs."

What is a virtual energy network?

The technology behind it is simple.

A platform called Powertracer, provided by Enosi and managed by energy retailer Energy Locals, keeps track of who produces and consumes electricity. As long as you have a smart meter and pay the $20 per month membership fee, you can take part.

The idea took hold in early 2024 after a conversation between McGuigan and a local dairy farmer. He explained how he'd used rooftop solar at home to power both his farm and a shop in town.

"To us, it was a magical link. We thought, if it can work there, why can't we do it?"

WinZero moved quickly to trial a version of the network.

"It was learning on the run," says McGuigan.

"Local people talking and realising if I'm buying your excess solar energy, then that money's staying local. It's not going to overseas interests who are perpetuating the use of fossil fuels."

Since then, the VEN has grown to include cafes, wineries, and homes across several States. Some participants even trade electricity between their own properties.

"I've got two properties - one in Sydney and the other in Moss Vale - and I trade with myself sometimes. When one property is sunny and the other's not, you can set it up so you're sharing electricity."

You don't need solar panels to benefit. Anyone can buy from other participants, either directly or through community trading.

"My sister, who doesn't have solar panels on her heritage house, felt she couldn't contribute to the energy transition. But through the VEN she can. She's buying my excess energy through the platform."

McGuigan says the network is about making clean energy more accessible.

"We want to build a sustainable future that is democratic. We don't want to leave renters, people in low-income housing, shared housing or people with shaded roofs out of the benefits.

"Everyone should have the opportunity to access renewable energy and save money."

Participants can also donate electricity to family, charities or neighbours by setting their trading prices low. For some, it's more about community than cost.

"I really like going to my favourite cafe and having a coffee and thinking, maybe the cappuccino machine used my energy to make this coffee. That's a really good feeling."

McGuigan has traded solar at 9 cents per kilowatt-hour, which she says beats the 3-cent feed-in tariff she would otherwise receive.

She says energy has become something people take for granted, until it becomes unaffordable.

"We think of electricity like water or air: it should always be there. And we know we must pay for it, but it's getting more and more expensive."

She believes VENs are just the beginning of a bigger shift in how Australians power their homes.

"Renewables has been an ideological football. But when people buy an EV or they put solar panels on their roofs and they're saving money; money talks."

She expects this kind of energy sharing to become the norm.

"It will change the way the market operates. We will have more data to know if we have sufficient energy from solar, wind and hydro.

"We'll have more batteries to store it all and it will be a more stable situation."

For now, she's just glad her energy and dollars are staying in the community.

"It never dawned on me that I could be getting money from exporting power to a local cafe.

"It's certainly something to explore, not just with your calculator and wallet but with your mind on the future."

What is Deakin's VEN study? 

Inspired by WinZero's virtual energy network, Deakin Business School is now testing how households and businesses can benefit from peer-to-peer energy trading.

"What the WinZero pilot demonstrated is that VENs are feasible for community use," says Dr Andrea La Nauze, the project's lead researcher and an energy economist at Deakin University.

"Now we are looking to scale it up and understand what the benefits are in a randomised control trial."

The goal of the trial is to see if VENs change when people consume electricity and if it helps make electricity cheaper overall.

"We really need to shift electricity consumption into the middle of the day in Australia because of the amount of solar we generate," says La Nauze.

"If the VEN facilitates that and proves to be beneficial to consumers, then potentially we may advocate for redesigning some of the regulations and network tariffs in the National Electricity Market (NEM)."

The VEN trial is funded through Energy Consumers Australia's Grants Program and delivered in partnership with Quantum NRG, ReThink Sustainability and WinZero.

It's now recruiting 400 participants from across Australia to join the online energy trading platform. If you're interested in joining, you can apply on the Deakin University website.

Participants don't need to live in the same suburb - or even the same State - but they do need to be with retailer Energy Locals.

"Keep in mind that you will need to sign up to a new electricity contract and, just like with any new retailer, you should check the details of that contract," says La Nauze.

Sellers could include households, small businesses, or even larger operations with multiple properties. For example, parents could share their excess energy with their children to help with cost-of-living pressures.

Buyers, meanwhile, can benefit by accessing power that's cheaper than typical electricity prices, while supporting local renewable energy use.

While they've had a lot of interest from people with rooftop solar, La Nauze says they need those who don't have solar too.

"We're offering people gift cards as an incentive to sign up. All you need is a smart meter to show how much you're consuming at the time your trading partner is producing."

Leading the charge

Senior market analyst at Bell Potter, Grady Wulff, outlines the performance and best shares in the energy sector.

The ASX energy sector has underperformed the ASX 200 by more than 80%, driven by fluctuating commodity prices, high capital expenditures and rising debt levels.

Meanwhile, sectors aligned with cleaner energy and ESG principles have thrived. Growing investor preference for sustainable, low-carbon businesses has led to capital outflows from traditional energy stocks, deepening the sector's underperformance in a sustainability-focused market.

The shift toward green energy sources has placed immense pressure on traditional fossil fuel industries, with increasing demand for clean and sustainable alternatives such as solar, wind and electric vehicles made from greener commodities like lithium and copper.

This energy transition has led to reduced investor interest in fossil fuel-dependent companies, pushing capital away from the sector.

Copper and lithium

Many energy companies were slow to pivot to renewable energy, leaving them vulnerable to regulatory changes and shifting consumer preferences. Alongside this, rising environmental and policy pressures, such as carbon pricing and emissions-reduction targets, have resulted in higher operational costs for companies in the sector.

Diversifying further into the green energy transition, on the blue-chip mining front, BHP has gone hard in copper acquisitions buying up Oz Minerals and Filo Corp, while Rio Tinto is delving into the lithium space through acquiring Arcadium Lithium in a deal worth US$6.7 billion ($10.29 billion) despite the prolonged depreciated price of the commodity. Both copper and lithium play a vital role in the global green energy transition, but the global supply and time to mine production of each varies significantly.

Lithium prices have remained depreciated since the 2020 high due to oversupply, and eased demand leading to oversupply issues pressuring prices down. Copper on the other hand has an undersupply right now that is expected to escalate for years to come as a copper mine generally takes about 17 years to get into production, so with an undersupply and growing demand, we are likely to continue seeing copper prices soar for some time to come.

Such expansions by two of the biggest mining companies in the world suggests diversification of earnings is crucial amid China's depreciated demand for iron ore, and the global transition to green energy driving growth opportunities for such miners.

Uranium

We have seen uranium on a tear recently following the mega deals signed by several of the Magnificent 7 to power their AI expansions and operations with nuclear power for decades to come.

Why this drives uranium is that uranium is the key commodity that fuels nuclear power - with supply downside and demand upside this has been driving the outlook for our uranium miners.

The spot price hasn't surged too much but the outlook for sales for our producers such as Boss Energy is stellar. On Boss Energy, with management like Duncan Craib and continuous growth in production hitting guidance, we see great upside potential for such Australian-listed uranium producers.

It also helps that US President Donald Trump is pro-nuclear and it forms a major part of the green energy transition, so we see the fundamentals are there for uranium to continue running.

How to invest

Some strategies and questions to consider when analysing potential investments in the energy sector in 2025 include:

Green diversification: With thermal coal demand declining, look for companies shifting toward metallurgical coal and green commodities like copper or uranium to reduce earnings risk.

Cost structure: Are high opex and capex driven by falling demand or decarbonisation policies affecting profitability?

Hedging strategy: Is the company exposed to volatile spot prices or protected by a solid hedging program to stabilise earnings?

Energy sector 10-year performance

Energy sector 10-year performance is down 34.62% over the 10 years from 2015-2025.

Drivers of performance: 
• Volatile commodity prices and global energy shocks, including oil price crashes and Covid-19 demand drops, hurt sector returns.
• Green energy transition reduced demand and investor interest in fossil fuels, pressuring traditional energy companies.
• Slow shift to renewables left many firms vulnerable to regulation, rising costs, and changing consumer preferences.
• Geopolitical tensions caused price volatility but didn't translate into sustained profits.
• High capex, debt, and capital outflows compounded underperformance amid growing ESG-focused investment trends.

Bell Potter energy buy ratings

• Develop Global
Buy rating with 12-month price target of $5.30. Develop Global (DVP) remains as a 'Buy' rating from Bell Potter's analysts due to expected undersupply of copper as demand ramps up due to the electrification movement.

• Pilbara Minerals 
Buy rating with 12-month price target of $2. Pilbara Minerals (PLS) remains as a 'Buy' rating as lithium plays a vital role in the global green energy transition.

• Paladin Energy 
Buy rating with 12-month price target of $6.50. Paladin Energy (PDN) remains as a 'Buy' rating due to its low-bar expectations for 4QFY25 performance, with potential for upside given the recent improvements in operating performance and CEO transition. The company is positioned for re-rating as Langer Heinrich's fresh ore processing is expected to outperform past stockpile issues, and the CEO change is seen as a positive step for future growth.

• Whitehaven Coal  
Buy rating with 12-month price target of $7.70. Whitehaven Coal (WHC) remains as a 'Buy' rating due to its strong operational outlook, which positions it well to weather ongoing coal price weakness. Despite short-term pressure on coal prices, WHC's focus on cost control, productivity improvements, and strategic growth projects, along with a positive long-term met coal outlook, supports its ability to capitalise on future market recovery.

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