Australia has launched CIS Tender 9, seeking another 5 GW of renewable energy capacity across the country, barring NSW
The country has also awarded 7.8 GW of renewable energy and storage capacity under CIS Tender 7, including solar, wind, and storage projects
Among the Tender 7 winning projects, the storage component represents over 2 GW or 7.9 GWh of capacity
Australia’s AusEnergy Services Limited (ASL) has officially launched Tender 9 under the Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS), seeking 5 GW of renewable energy generation capacity across the National Electricity Market (NEM).
The 5 GW indicative capacity will be distributed as 1.6 GW in Victoria and 300 MW in Tasmania. The Victorian government has requested a 470 MW limit on solar-only projects located in Victoria. The remaining 3.1 GW of unallocated capacity may be awarded to projects in a Participating NEM Region, based on their assessed merit.
A minimum capacity of 500 MW has been set aside for First Nations to encourage revenue and equity sharing in large-scale clean energy projects.
All eligible projects must have a minimum registered capacity of 30 MW and achieve commercial operation before December 31, 2030.
Projects located in New South Wales (NSW) will not be eligible to compete, as the maximum allocation for NSW projects has been reached through previous CIS NEM generation tenders. Recently, NSW launched its own Tender 8 for 2.5 GW of generation and Tender 9 for 12 GWh of long-duration storage capacity under the state’s Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap (see New South Wales’s Largest Renewable Energy Tender).
ASL launched CIS Tender 9 on May 25, 2026, with July 6, 2026, as the last date for registration.
Alongside launching CIS Tender 9, Australia has also announced the results for Tender 7, under which it has selected 19 projects. The tender has now concluded with 7.8 GW of renewable energy capacity awarded, exceeding the 5 GW on offer (see Australia Seeks 5 GW RE Capacity Under CIS Tender 7).
This was an oversubscribed tender round as the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) received 53 bids with a combined 18.6 GW capacity.
Of the winning projects, 8 are hybrid, combining wind or solar generation with a battery energy storage system (BESS). The storage component represents a capacity of over 2 GW or 7.9 GWh.
All the winning projects under Tender 7 have committed to AUD 504.6 million in community shared benefits, AUD 678.7 million in First Nations benefits, and AUD 257 million in Australian-made steel. Put together, this capacity will produce enough clean electricity to power more than 4 million households in the NEM, support more than 19,000 jobs during construction, and more than 1,500 operations and maintenance jobs.
Among the winning solar and solar + storage projects in Tender 7 round are:
ACEN Australia’s Birriwa Solar Project with 600 MW PV and 2,400 MWh BESS capacity
Spark Renewables’ 300 MW and 1,200 MWh Dinawan Solar Hybrid
Lightsource bp’s 320 MW solar and 1,391 MWh Gundary Hybrid facility
Zero E/Grupo Cobra’s 290 MW and 542 MWh Gunning Solar Farm Hybrid Project
European Energy Australia’s 85 MW Kayuga Solar Farm and BESS
Zero E/Grupo Cobra’s 171 MW solar and 100 MWh Moranbah Solar Farm
Spark Renewables’ 180 MW and 720 MWh Wattle Creek Solar Hybrid, and
Gamuda Renewables and Alternate Path 200 MW Weasel Solar Farm.
Australia plans to announce the results of CIS Tender 8 in June 2026. It is seeking 4 GW/16 GWh of dispatchable capacity across the NEM. The tender was launched in November 2025 (see Australia Launches CIS Tender 8 For Dispatchable Capacity).