Australia has selected 19 renewable energy projects totalling 7.8GW under the seventh round of its Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS), including hybrid projects that will add more than 7.9GWh of battery energy storage capacity to the National Electricity Market (NEM).
The projects were selected under Tender 7 of the federal government’s CIS programme, which had originally targeted 5GW of new renewable generation capacity. Eight of the successful projects combine solar or wind generation with battery energy storage systems (BESS).
New South Wales accounted for the largest share of the awarded capacity, with nine projects totalling about 3.9GW, followed by Queensland with five projects representing around 2.7GW.
Among the largest projects selected were the 1.5GW Yanco Delta Wind Farm being developed by Origin Energy in New South Wales, the 1.15GW Bungaban Wind Energy Project in Queensland from Windlab, and the 1.02GW Theodore Wind Farm in Queensland.
Large hybrid battery projects selected in the tender include the 600MW Birriwa Solar project in New South Wales, which includes 2.4GWh of battery storage, and the Gundary Hybrid Facility, comprising 320MW of solar generation and 1,391MWh of storage.
According to multiple industry reports, the selected projects are expected to attract around AUD17 billion (US$11 billion) in private investment and support roughly 19,000 construction jobs.
Australia’s broader energy transition strategy
The CIS programme forms part of Australia’s broader energy transition strategy, which targets 40GW of renewable and dispatchable capacity by 2030 and emissions reductions of 62–70% below 2005 levels by 2035.
Australia has rapidly expanded grid-scale battery deployment over the past two years. Earlier this year, the country completed the 500MW/2.4GWh Collie Battery Energy Storage System in Western Australia, currently one of the country’s largest operational BESS projects.
Further CIS tenders are already planned. Tender 8, focused on dispatchable capacity, is expected to conclude in June 2026, while Tender 9 for a further 5GW of renewable generation capacity opened on 25 May and will close in July.
Photo: a vineyard in New South Wales by Steven Watson on Unsplash
