AusEnergy Services (ASL) has awarded six new long-duration storage (LDS) battery projects totaling 1.17 GW/11.98 GWh under the sixth round of New South Wales (NSW) Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap.

Bridge Energy won 100 MW/870 MWh, Ark Energy won 250 MW/2,414 MWh, FRV Services Australia won 158 MW/1,440 MWh, and BW ESS Australia won 233 MW/2,676 MWh.

Iberdrola Australia also bagged 100 MW/1,080 MWh, and Neoen Australia secured 330 MW/3,500 MWh.

Each project will have a storage capacity equivalent to at least 8 hours. Collectively, the awarded projects have a combined capacity of 1,170 MW, equivalent to about 9% of NSW’s peak demand.

With the contracted capacities, NSW can meet the legislated minimum objective of delivering 2 GW of LDS projects by 2030 and 28 GWh by 2034.

With the addition of projects awarded, NSW’s contracted capacity for LDS projects has risen to 30 GWh.

ASL has set a target to secure 42 GWh of LDS projects by 2034.

The previous-largest LDS project, a 1 GW/13.8 GWh project, was won last year. ASL had floated the tender in 2024

All six projects are expected to reach commercial operation before 2030.

Limondale BESS, the first project awarded under LDS long-term energy service agreements (LDS LTESA) in 2023, is now in the commissioning stage and nearing commercial operations.

The LDS LTESA is designed to address financial constraints for developing LDS projects, improve bankability, and accelerate the delivery of new electricity infrastructure.

The next LDS tender will be floated in the second quarter (Q2) of 2026, seeking 12 GWh of project and another 12 GWh in 2027.

These tenders aim at operationalizing projects by 2030, and longer-lead-time projects by 2034.

Concurrently, ASL will start floating tenders for the Generation LTESA, with a tender seeking 2.5 GW of projects also scheduled to commence in Q2 2026.

A tender seeking 500 MW of firming and demand response projects, which must be operational by the end of 2027, is underway. This tender is expected to be completed by the end of May 2026.

Last year, Australia invited bids to set up 4 GW /16 GWh of dispatchable energy storage capacity in the National Electricity Market (NEM).

In the same year, Australia also invited bids to set up 4 GW /16 GWh of dispatchable energy storage capacity in the NEM.

It also invited bids for 5 GW of renewable energy projects in the NEM as part of the seventh tender under the Capacity Investment Scheme.