en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Australian government has announced the results of the eighth round of tenders under the Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS), selecting 15 battery storage projects in the National Electricity Market (NEM) with a total capacity of 4.2GW/16.1GWh. This result slightly exceeds the indicative target of 16GWh set when the tender was launched in November 2025.
These 15 projects are located in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, and Victoria, and are expected to create over 6,800 jobs in construction, operation, and maintenance over their operational lifetimes. Subject to final contract signing, developers have committed to providing over AUD 60 million (USD 41 million) for community benefit sharing, AUD 220 million for Indigenous welfare, and AUD 50 million for the procurement of Australian-made steel.
Queensland secured the largest share, with six projects selected, totaling over 6GWh of storage capacity. Details of the selected projects are as follows: Ampyr Energy was awarded four contracts, including the 350MW/1,428MWh Grahams Battery in Kogan, the 400MW/1,602MWh Rutherglen Battery in Bororen, the 300MW/600MWh Bulabul 1 Battery in Wuuluman, New South Wales, and the 375MW/1,533MWh Wimpole Battery in Bunyip North, Victoria. Edify Energy secured two contracts in Queensland, both for 250MW/1,000MWh projects at Majors Creek, namely the Ganymirra Energy Storage System and the Majors Creek Energy Storage System. Akaysha Energy's 250MW/1,000MWh Oaky Creek BESS in Ellesmere and Lightsource bp's 350MW/1,223MWh Woonga Creek BESS in Lower Wonga were also selected in Queensland.
New South Wales secured three projects. In addition to Ampyr Energy's Bulabul 1 Battery, these include Ascera Energy's 400MW/1,600MWh Gelston Energy Park in McCullys Gap, and Potentia Energy's 130MW/520MWh Ridgey Creek BESS in Parkes. South Australia received two contracts, both owned by Potentia Energy, comprising the 125MW/508MWh Blanche BESS in Compton and the 225MW/900MWh Emeroo BESS in Wami Kata. Victoria, besides Ampyr Energy's Wimpole Battery, includes Equis Australia's 200MW/800MWh Melbourne Renewable Energy Hub Side B in Plumpton, HMC Capital's 300MW/1,200MWh Moorabool Battery in Moorabool, and Eku Energy's 300MW/1,160MWh Byellee BESS in Byellee.
Ampyr Energy, with four contracts, became the largest single developer by project count in this round. Potentia Energy secured three contracts across two states, while Edify Energy and Akaysha Energy each won two.
This round of tenders represents the largest procurement of storage under the CIS scheme, targeting 4GW/16GWh of clean dispatchable capacity in the NEM, with a minimum duration requirement of 4 hours. The final result of 4.2GW/16.1GWh nominally exceeds the indicative target, continuing the pattern observed in Round 3. Round 3, the only previous dispatchable tender for the NEM, awarded 4.13GW/15.37GWh against a target of 16GWh. Round 4 supported 11.4GWh of solar-plus-storage projects. The technical composition of Round 8 is identical to Round 3, with all 15 successful projects being standalone lithium-ion battery energy storage systems, rather than pumped storage hydro or other alternative technologies.
Project durations range from just over 4 hours for Ridgey Creek BESS to over 5 hours for Rutherglen Battery and Byellee BESS, with most clustered around the 4-hour minimum requirement. The concentration of projects in Queensland reflects the scale of storage development activity in the state and the speed at which its grid is absorbing renewable energy generation. Storage deployment in Queensland has accelerated sharply over the past 12 months, making it the first NEM state to exceed 100GWh of monthly battery storage discharge. These projects are required to achieve commercial operation by December 31, 2029.
Immediately following the completion of this tender round, CIS Round 10 was launched, also targeting 4GW of clean dispatchable capacity in the NEM, with a bid submission deadline of August 18, 2026. The government indicated that Round 10 is likely to be the final dispatchable tender under the CIS. Round 9 (the latest NEM generation tender) was launched on May 25, 2026, seeking 5GW of renewable energy capacity, with results expected in November 2026. The total scale of storage contracted under the CIS scheme continues to grow, with tenders in Western Australia adding further capacity. CIS Rounds 5 and 6, targeting the Wholesale Electricity Market (WEM) in Western Australia, awarded contracts to three battery storage projects with a total dispatchable capacity of 3.683GWh, exceeding the initial target of 2.4GWh by over 50%, with all projects expected to be operational by 2030.
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