Western Australia has awarded four battery energy storage projects with a total capacity of 654 MW/2,595 MWh under the Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS).

The projects are scheduled to be operational by October 2027.

The projects will exceed the 500 MW/2,000 MWh capacity tendered. This will be enough to meet the peak electricity load for over 600,000 homes in Western Australia for four hours.

The successful projects are:

• Boddington Giga Battery (324 MW) operated by PGS Energy, 120 km south-east of Perth
• Merredin Big Battery (100 MW) operated by Atmos Renewables, 230 km east of Perth
• Muchea Big Battery (150 MW) operated by Neoen, 43 km north-east of Perth
• Waroona Renewable Energy Project – Stage 1 (80 MW) operated by Frontier Energy, 120 km south of Perth.

The projects have committed a total investment of AU$145 million (~$91.25 million) in shared benefits to local project communities and AU$41.5 million (~$26.1 million) in initiatives for local First Nations groups.

They will provide important backup to Western Australia’s south-west grid, including Perth, ensuring reliability, particularly at times of peak demand.

CIS encourages new investments in clean dispatchable capacity, such as battery storage and generation, such as solar and wind. It provides a long-term revenue safety net that decreases financial risk for investors promoting renewable energy projects.

It aims to help the Australian Government deliver its 82% renewable electricity by 2030 target and an additional 32 GW of capacity by 2030.

The 32 GW includes 23 GW of renewable and 9 GW of clean dispatchable capacity.

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. The clean energy generated through these projects will be connected to the National Electricity Market.

In November, Australian Energy Market Operator Services launched registrations for the CIS Tender 4 to facilitate the development of 6 GW of renewable energy projects within Australia’s NEM.