Australia’s Department for Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water has announced the results of the fourth auction under its Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS).

A total of 20 projects were selected, delivering 6,640 MW of renewable energy, compared to the 6,000 MW originally planned. Twelve of these projects include battery storage along with the wind or solar capacity, amounting to 3,509 MW/11,444 MWh.

The tender was floated in November last year.

The projects represent over AU$17 billion (~$11.2 billion) in local content. They include more than AU$1.1 billion (~$723.1 million) in Australian steel, commit AU$291 million (~$191.3 million) in shared community benefits, and provide AU$348 million (~$228.8 million) in First Nations benefits.

The CIS program aims to develop renewable generation and firming projects to deliver cheaper, cleaner, and more reliable energy for homes and businesses while coal is being phased out. Through this program, the Australian government plans to deliver 82% or 40 GW of renewable energy capacity nationwide by 2030.

Tender 7 is expected to open this month, and Tender 8 in November this year.

In September 2025, Australia announced the results of the third auction for dispatchable power as part of CIS, with the successful battery energy storage projects expected to deliver 4.13 GW/15.37 GWh of capacity.

In August, the Australian government floated Tenders 5 and 6 for 1,600 MW of renewable energy and 2,400 MWh of energy storage capacity, respectively, in Western Australia as part of the CIS program. The storage projects must use energy from the grid or from renewable sources.

In March, Western Australia awarded four battery energy storage projects with a total capacity of 654 MW/2,595 MWh under CIS. The projects are scheduled to be operational by October 2027.

In December last year, the Australian Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water selected 19 renewable energy projects totaling 6.38 GW, including eight hybrid power projects of 3.6 GWh under the CIS Tender 1.