Tender 8 of the Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS) will provide financial underwriting for 15 grid-scale battery projects across Australia.
The recipients include Potentia Energy’s Blanche, Emeroo and Ridgey Creek projects, Ampyr’s Grahams, Rutherglen, Wimpole and Bulabul assets, and Edify Energy’s Ganymirra and Majors Creek batteries.
Eku Energy, Ascera Energy, Equis Australia, HMC Capital, Akaysha Energy and Lightsource bp all have one project in the CIS pot.
Tender 8 amounts to 4.2GW/16.1GWh of battery storage, with the assets located across NSW, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia. The 15 projects were selected from 73 bids, with the proposed capacity exceeding the tender target by almost five to one.
Want more content like this? Subscribe to Energy and discover all you need to know about the energy transition.
The Federal Government said the latest CIS tender would unlock around $6 billion in private investment and deliver an estimated $343 million in benefits for Australian communities and industry.
“Through the CIS we’re making strong progress to delivering 82 per cent renewable electricity by 2030 through delivering cheaper, cleaner and more reliable electricity to power Australia’s homes and businesses,” Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy Josh Wilson said.
“As we saw with a record boost to Australia’s main electricity grid through CIS Tender 7 just one month ago, renewable energy investors know that renewables are the future and fossil fuels are the past – that’s why they’re scrambling to subscribe to the CIS.”
It comes as the Cheaper Home Batteries program nudges 450,000 installations within its first 12 months, equating to 13GWh of storage itself.
“The first quarter of this year saw coal make its lowest contribution to our energy system on record, while gas fell to a 28-year low in terms of the contribution it makes,” Wilson said.
“All these things are part of that energy transformation. It’s a massive enterprise, supported very strongly by households and businesses around Australia.”
CIS Tender 10 is now open, with a further 4GW/16GWh being targeted. Applications are open until August 18.
