The Australian Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water has invited bids to develop up to 600 MW of four-hour equivalent or 2,400 MWh energy storage projects in South Australia or Victoria.

The Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS) South Australia-Victoria (SA-Vic) tender seeks to set up energy storage projects with a continuous discharge capability for a minimum duration of 2 hours at their nameplate capacity and a minimum size of 30 MW. Eligible projects must be situated in South Australia or Victoria.

The tender will allocate 800 MWh each to South Australia and Victoria, and an additional 800 MWh will be allocated to either.

CIS is an initiative by the Australian Government designed to stimulate fresh investments in dispatchable renewable energy generation and storage.

The tender would follow a merit-based process with two stages:

• Stage A involves submitting project bids and closing at 5 pm AEDT on February 23, 2024.
• Stage B covers financial value bids, scheduled for April 2024 (exact date to be confirmed).

Stage A of the tender is now open, and the registration period will conclude on February 16, 2024.

Projects selected through the CIS SA-Vic tender are expected to contribute clean, dispatchable capacity to the national electricity grid by the end of 2027.

This initiative aims to enhance the energy system’s reliability, affordability, and environmental sustainability for all Australians.

Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), in conjunction with its subsidiary AEMO Service (ASL), will oversee the competitive CIS SA-Vic tender on behalf of the Australian Government and provide recommendations.

The Australian Government will then choose projects to receive revenue support under the CIS based on AEMO’s suggestions.

Recently, Squadron Energy, Neoen Australia, A-CAES NSW (Hydrostor Australia), Lightsource Development Services Australia, and Ark Energy Projects were declared winners in the AEMO auction to develop 950 MW of renewable energy projects and 550 MW of long-duration storage.

Earlier, AEMO had received bids for over 8 GW of wind, solar, and long-duration storage projects in the first round of the inaugural tendering process of the NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap. Of the total capacity, bids were received for over 5.5 GW of wind and solar and 2.5 GW of long-duration storage projects.