Australia rolls out its largest ever renewable energy tender in pursuit of green 'superpower' promise
New South Wales takes pride of place in 6GW launch, as Australia promises new tender every six months on the way to 32GW target
Australia has launched its largest single tender of renewable energy capacity so far, offering 6GW of new projects to support the country's National Electricity Market (NEM).
Projects proposed under this giant offer will be the first to be bid under the Australian government‘s “Reliable Renewables Plan", which aims to deliver 32GW of new generation and storage for the grid by 2030, under an expanded Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS).
The CIS will target both dispatchable and variable capacity across the country and is intended to add substance to a campaign pledge by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to turn the country into a ‘renewables superpower.’
Projects resulting from the 6GW tender will have a target completion date of 2027 "and will boost energy generation as aging and increasingly unreliable coal fired power generators retire and demand for electricity increases”, according to a statement by Australia’s Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW).
The statement also stressed that the Reliable Renewables Plan is supported by negotiations between different levels of government, including territories.
As part of those negotiations, 2.2GW of the May tender has been allocated exclusively for New South Wales, with another 300MW for South Australia, 1.4GW for Victoria and 300MW for Tasmania.
The remaining 1.8GW will be allocated across the National Electricity Market, including Queensland, to the most meritorious projects, the DCCEEW statement continued.
Regular tenders
The tender that officially opened today (Friday) will be followed by a series of six-monthly auctions.
A first round of tenders for Western Australia, targeting 500MW of storage will commence mid-year.
Projects will be selected through a two-stage process that takes into account a broad range of factors including value for money, timing for delivery, First Nations commitments and local community benefits, the DCCEEW stated.
A pilot CIS auction was completed last November, awarding over 1GW of dispatchable power in New South Wales.
The expanded CIS programme is intended to carry Australia toward a target of using 82% renewable energy by 2030.
Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen stated: “We are getting on with the job of delivering practical solutions to keep the lights on for households and businesses using the cheapest, cleanest form of power – reliable renewable energy."
Bowen referred to the 24 coal plants totalling 26.7GW for which closure dates under the previous administration.
“The Australian Energy Market Operator has confirmed we need generation now for reliability as more than 90% of our coal generation leaves the market over the next decade – that's exactly what our Reliable Renewables Plan is doing,” he stated.