Australia Prioritizing 56 Renewable, Storage & Transmission Projects

The federal government in Australia has identified 56 projects in its National Renewable Energy Priority List that will be fast-tracked. The list consists of24 transmission projects and 32 renewable energy generation & storage facilities. 

On clearing the planning and environmental processes at the Commonwealth, state and territory levels, these projects will deliver an additional 16 GW of generation and close to 6 GW of storage capacity. At the national level, it could provide annual electricity needs for over 9 million homes, according to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW).

In all, there are 2 wind & solar hybrids and 5 solar & storage projects. No vanilla solar projects are included. Among the priority projects is the bp-backed 26 GW wind and solar powered Australian Renewable Energy Hub (AREH), which also has the ‘major project’ status from the Australian government (see Australia’s Major Project Status To Accelerate 32 GW RE Capacity Installation).  

All of the selected projects meet the eligibility criteria of being over 30 MW in installed capacity and scheduled to complete by December 31, 2031, if not already grid-connected. The list will be updated regularly.  

DCCEEW says the priority list adopts a ‘faster to yes, faster to no’ approach. While these will receive additional support and facilitation through regulatory and environmental processes, they will be subject to the same scrutiny as any other project not on the list.  

Funding will come from the 2024-25 Commonwealth Budget. The current priority list of projects is available on its website. 

Recently, the Clean Energy Council (CEC) of Australia said that in terms of investments, the country is on track to achieve 82% renewable energy target by 2030 (see Australia: Financial Commitments For Over 4 GW RE Capacity In 2024).