Australia has announced the results of the auction under Tender 3 for dispatchable power as part of the Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS), with the successful battery energy storage projects expected to deliver 4.13 GW (approximately 15.37 GWh) of capacity.

The dispatched power will be added to the National Electricity Market (NEM).

The tender selected 16 large-scale battery projects across the country:

The CIS program aims to develop renewable generation and firming projects to deliver cheaper, cleaner, and more reliable energy for homes and businesses while coal is being phased out. Through this program, the Australian government plans to deliver 82% or 40 GW of renewable energy capacity nationwide by 2030.

In August this year, the Australian government floated Tenders 5 and 6 for 1,600 MW of renewable energy and 2,400 MWh of clean dispatchable (energy storage) capacity, respectively, in Western Australia as part of the CIS program. The storage projects must use energy from the grid or from renewable sources.

The renewable energy projects must have a minimum nameplate capacity of 30 MW. The storage projects must have a storage duration of at least two hours and a nameplate capacity of 30 MW. Successful tenders are expected to secure at least 2.3 GW of renewable energy generation and 4.4 GWh of clean dispatchable capacity for Western Australia.

Tender 7 was expected to launch this month, and Tender 8 in November this year.

In March, Western Australia awarded four battery energy storage projects with a total capacity of 654 MW/2,595 MWh under CIS. The projects are scheduled to be operational by October 2027.

The projects will exceed the 500 MW/2,000 MWh capacity tendered.

In December last year, the Australian Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water selected 19 renewable energy projects totaling 6.38 GW, including eight hybrid power projects of 3.6 GWh under the CIS Tender 1. The clean energy generated through these projects will be connected to NEM.