Solar battery hybrid projects have emerged as the dominant technology, winning the most project and the bulk of capacity in the federal government’s latest generation tender under its flagship Capacity Investment Scheme.
Federal energy and climate minister Chris Bowen on Thursday named 20 projects with a combined capacity of 6.5 gigawatts (GW) that have been awarded revenue underwriting agreements in the latest CIS tender for large scale wind and solar.
The CIS has been newly expanded to 40 GW of generation and storage capacity, and the tender process fast-tracked in an effort to boost government and industry hopes that the ambitious target of 82 per cent renewables can still be met.
The next generation tender – seeking another 5 GW of capacity – is already open for registrations with bids due from October 14. A new tender for dispatchable generation will open in November.
The biggest project winner of the latest tender is the Liverpool Range wind project in NSW, Edify Energy emerges as the most successful developer with three project wins, and NSW and Queensland share top billing with six projects each (see full table below).
But the most interesting thing about the results is the re-emergence of solar, mostly paired with big batteries to create solar battery hybrid projects that have trumped wind energy both in terms of overall capacity and in project numbers.
In the first generation tender, announced late last year, wind projects emerged with the most capacity, but none of these have yet reached financial close. Indeed, no wind project has reached financial close in Australia in 2025, although a couple are thought to be close to it, including the Palmer wind farm in South Australia.
The wind finance drought is largely blamed on increased costs, while solar and battery storage technologies are enjoying prices falls. Batteries are included in 12 of the 20 winning CIS projects, compared to just eight of 19 in the first generation tender.
There are 11 winning solar battery hybrids, and one wind battery hybrid, with a combined battery capacity of 3.5 GW /11.4 GWh – nearly as much as awarded in the recently announced dispatchable tender.
In fact, it has been something of a battery bonanza, with revenue underwriting agreements for 28 battery projects over the last two tenders totalling 7.6 GW and 28 GWh of battery storage.
In the latest tender there were seven wind-only project winners and just one solar-only project. (See full table below).
Bowen, who remains confident that the renewables target can be met despite some analysts predicting it will fall short, says the CIS is clearly popular, with the latest tender oversubscribed by a factor of four. He says the winning projects will bring $17 billion in new investment.
“The Capacity Investment Scheme continues to be popular and competitive, delivering cheaper, cleaner and more reliable energy for all Australians for years to come,” Bowen said in a statement.
“We are rebuilding Australia’s energy grid to make it modern, reliable and fair and attracting global interest in our wind and solar.
“The scheme is not only delivering clean power, but also creating thousands of high quality jobs, often in remote and rural areas, and opportunities to train the next generation of engineers, electricians and tradespeople who will build our energy future.”
The biggest project of the 20 winners announced on Thursday is the first 664 megawatt (MW) stage of Tilt Renewables’ long awaited Liverpool Range wind project in NSW, which plans to double in size over time, and which is currently seeking planning approval for an onsite quarry to provide materials for construction.
Other notable winners include AGL, the country’s biggest coal generator, which wins for its 600 MW Hexham wind project in Victoria, although its better known and jointly owned Pottinger wind and battery in NSW and its Barn Hill wind project in South Australia were not on the podium.
“We have several wind projects in our development pipeline and we continue to progress our efforts to bring new large-scale wind to the market in the coming years,” said AGL’s head of power development Travis Hughes.
NSW and Queensland – where the state LNP government is about to announce its new energy roadmap on Friday – both emerged with six winning projects, followed by Victoria with four and South Australia with three.
Tasmania emerged with its first winner – the 224 MW Bell Bay wind project owned by Equis. Western Australia projects are subject to a separate auction process because of the unique design of their market.
Edify Energy, newly sold to Canada’s la Caisse, emerges with three winning projects, with its adjoining Guthries Gap and Smoky Creek solar battery hybrids in Queensland, and its newly approved Nowingi solar battery hybrid in Victoria.
All three projects are underwritten for 300 MW of solar and 300 MW, 1,200 MWh of battery storage, although Nowingi has flagged it may expand the battery capacity to up to 2,400 MWh.
Interestingly, Guthries Gap and Smoky Creek have already signed a major contract with Rio Tinto to help supply its giant aluminium smelters and refineries in Queensland. Rio Tinto has already flagged the early closure of the Gladstone coal fired power station because of the need to switch to renewables.
“This is a cracking result for the Edify team and a strong endorsement of our cutting-edge solar power station design,” Edify CEO John Cole said in a statement.
See more reaction from winning developers in this piece: ” A cracking result:” Solar hybrids steal the show as big wind struggles to land finance
Portugal energy giant EDP, which has mostly focused on small scale projects in Australia, is the only other multiple winner, with two winning projects.
One is the Merino solar battery hybrid in NSW, awarded 450 MW of solar and 450 MW, 1,800 MWh of battery storage, and the other is the Punchs Creek solar battery hybrid in Queensland, sized at 400 MW, and 400 MW, 1,600 MWh.
Other notable winners are Spark Renewables’ Dinawan wind project (357 MW) in NSW, which has recently secured grid access rights for the new south-west renewable energy zone, and French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies, which wins for its Middlebrook solar battery hybrid project in NSW.
TotalEnergies also won in last month’s dispatchable tender for its Kiamal battery in Victoria, which should add value to the planned sale of its Australian assets – part of its general retreat from renewables and storage.
Lightsource BP’s Lower Wonga solar project was the only solar project without an attached battery to win a contract, although it might be close enough to make friends with Edify’s nearby Lower Wonga battery.
Potentia Energy won a contract for its newly approved Tallawang solar and battery hybrid, the biggest in NSW which also has grid access rights in the Central West Orana zone.
Other winners for wind projects include Aula Energy (Carmody’s Hill in South Australia), Andrew Forrest’s majority owned Windlab (Gawara Baya in Queensland), French giant Engie (second stage of the Willogoleche wind farm in South Australia being built with Foresight), and CPQ (Moah Creek in Queensland).
The other solar battery hybrid winners include Athena Energy’s Bendemeer Hub in the New England region in NSW, Genaspi’s Bundey project in South Australia, BNRG Leeson’s Corop project in Victoria, and Sungrow’s Derby project in Victoria, which has previously been named a winner of the state’s own renewable tender.
ProjectProponentTechnologyCapacity MWStateBell Bay Wind FarmEquisWind224TasBendemeer Energy HubAthena Energy AustraliaSolar + battery (150 MW / 300 MWh)252NSWBundey BESS and SolarGenaspi Energy GroupSolar + battery (300 MW / 1200 MWh)240SACarmody’s Hill Wind FarmAula EnergyWind247SACorop Solar Farm and BESSBNRG LeesonSolar + battery (290 MW / 704 MWh)230VicDerby Solar ProjectSungrowSolar + battery (95 MW / 210 MWh)95VicDinawan Wind Farm (Stage 1)Spark RenewablesWind357NSWGawara BayaWindlabWind + battery (104 MW / 217 MWh)399QldGuthrie’s Gap Solar Power StationEdify EnergySolar + battery (300 MW / 1200 MWh)300QldHexham Wind FarmAGLWind600VicLiverpool Range Wind Stage 1Tilt RenewablesWind634NSWLower Wonga Solar FarmLightsource BPSolar281QldMerino Solar FarmEDPRSolar + battery (450 MW / 1800 MWh)450NSWMiddlebrook Solar FarmTotalEnergies Renewables Australia Pty LtdSolar + battery (320 MW / 813 MWh)363NSWMoah Creek Wind FarmCentral Queensland Power (CQP)Wind360QldNowingi Solar Power StationEdify EnergySolar + battery (300 MW / 1200 MWh)300VicPunchs Creek Solar FarmEDPRSolar + battery (400 MW / 1600 MWh)400QldSmoky Creek Solar Power StationEdify EnergySolar + battery (300 MW / 1200 MWh)300QldTallawang Solar HybridPotentia EnergySolar + battery (500 MW / 1000 MWh)500NSWWillogoleche 2 Wind FarmENGIE and ForesightWind108SA
The government says the 20 projects have committed an estimated $291 million in shared community benefits – including for local libraries, pools, parks and gardens, and energy rebates, and $348 million in First Nations benefits, including revenue sharing agreements, subcontracting, training and workforce development.
The projects will create 12,000 construction jobs and over 1,000 long-term maintenance roles, and will purchase $1 billion in Australian steel.
All the projects are expected to be complete by December, 2029. Winning bids are awarded a CISA (CIS agreements) which act as a revenue underwriting agreement, essentially providing a “safety net”.
Most projects will also need to find commercial contracts, but the CISA should make this task easier and more attractive to bankers, although it is speculated that many projects in the first generation tender bid too low. Prices are not revealed.
The tender announced on Thursday is the fourth so far under the CIS, and last month 16 battery projects were announced as winners of the tender for dispatchable capacity. More tenders are being held in Western Australia, and Bowen plans at least two tenders a year for the main grid under a new fast-tracked process.
The size of the CIS has also been increased to now seek 40 gigawatts of capacity instead of 32 GW originally sought.
You can listen to last week’s interview with Bowen in the most recent episode of Renew Economy’s weekly Energy Insiders podcast: Energy Insiders Podcast: Chris Bowen on coal, renewables, EVs and UN
See also Renew Economy’s Big Battery Storage Map of Australia for more information.
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Giles Parkinson is founder and editor-in-chief of Renew Economy, and founder and editor of its EV-focused sister site The Driven. He is the co-host of the weekly Energy Insiders Podcast. Giles has been a journalist for more than 40 years and is a former deputy editor of the Australian Financial Review. You can find him on LinkedIn and on Twitter.