Six new projects in Victoria and South Australia have been successful under the federal government’s Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS).
The CIS encourages new investment in renewable energy dispatchable capacity such as battery storage and generation such as solar and wind, providing capacity to meet our growing electricity demand and fill reliability gaps as ageing coal power stations exit the grid.
Related article: Australia’s biggest ever renewables tender opens for bids
The successful clean dispatchable capacity projects will be able to deliver 3,626MWh of energy, which is enough to supply the peak electricity demand for a million homes.
The tender allocation delivers an additional 1,630 MWh to Victoria and 1,996MWh to South Australia. Conditional on signing a Capacity Investment Scheme Agreement, the projects are due to start operation by mid-2027.
The Victorian projects are:
- Wooreen 350MW lithium-ion battery system operated by EnergyAustralia in the Latrobe Valley on the existing site of the Jeeralang Power Station at Hazelwood North.
- Springvale Energy Hub 115MW lithium-ion battery system to be developed by Project Power on the site of a former landfill in south-eastern Melbourne.
The South Australian projects are:
- Limestone Coast West 250MW lithium-ion battery operated by Pacific Green Energy, near Mount Gambier.
- Solar River 170MW lithium-ion battery alongside a 230MW solar farm, operated by ZEN Energy, located north of Adelaide between Burra and Morgan.
- Clements Gap 60MW lithium-ion battery, operated by Pacific Blue, at the Clements Gap Wind Farm, in the state’s mid-north.
- Hallett 50MW lithium-ion battery owned by Energy Australia, in Canownie, 210km north of Adelaide.
Related article: WA’s second Capacity Investment Scheme tender opens
The successful projects in this tender have committed a total investment of $12.5 million of shared benefits to local project communities and $6.5 million of initiatives for local First Nations groups.
There are two more CIS tenders currently in progress with the next tender expected to open late this year.
