The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) Services has launched the latest tender for long-duration energy storage (LDES) in New South Wales, seeking an indicative 1GW of projects.
The tender, which opened on Friday (9 May), is the sixth of its kind and is being opened under the NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap. The last tender saw 14GWh of LDES projects awarded Long-Term Energy Service Agreement (LTESA) contracts.
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AEMO Services, which is an advisory and tender services provider owned by AEMO, which manages Australia’s electricity and gas systems and markets, said in a statement that the tender is open to projects connecting to new planned infrastructure in Renewable Energy Zones (REZ) with access schemes, or existing infrastructure statewide.
The New South Wales government is developing at least five separate multi-gigawatt REZ facilities connected to the grid and partially using LDES to replace traditional centralised power plants. The five REZs include the Hunter-Central Coast, the South-West, New England, Central-West Orana and Illawarra.
Last week, Energy-Storage.news reported that the country’s first REZ, the Central-West Orana REZ in New South Wales, had seen 7.15GW of renewable energy and energy storage projects granted access rights by the state-owned Energy Corporation of New South Wales (EnergyCo).
Projects must be capable of 8-hour discharge duration at full rated power to be eligible for the latest tender in New South Wales. AEMO Services also noted that it is looking for projects that can become operational by 2034 to help meet New South Wales’ minimum objectives of 2GW and 16GWh by 2030 and at least 28GWh by 2034.
Registrations close 29 May 2025 at 17:00, whilst project bids close 10 June 2025 at 17:00. You can find out more on AEMO Services’ website.
The most successful LDES tender to date
AEMO Services’ executive general manager Nevenka Codevelle said the success of the recent Tender 5 for long-duration energy storage projects would serve as a running start for the next round.
“Tender 5 was the most successful long-duration energy storage tender to date. It demonstrates the strong market interest to invest in long-duration energy storage projects, and we’re excited to see more in Tender 6,” Codevelle said.
“AEMO Services uses a two-stage tender process that assesses a project’s social licence commitments, deliverability, impact on the grid and quality of proponent. The second assesses a project’s financial value to New South Wales electricity consumers.
LDES technologies and projects are vital to the state’s energy system, providing renewable electricity during periods of peak demand.
The growing importance of the technology saw three pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) projects, Stratford, Muswellbrook and Lake Lyell PHES projects, named Critical State Significant Infrastructure (CSSI) last year for economic, social, and environmental reasons. PHES is a form of LDES.
Speaking exclusively to Energy-Storage.news in February, Elias Saba, chief technology officer at Eku Energy, one of the successful companies in Tender 5, emphasised that the LTSEA contracts are critical to expanding energy storage systems in Australia.
“These tenders are critical to enabling longer-duration systems to come online, which are needed to continue accelerating the energy transition within Australia,” Saba said.
“In particular, as we increase renewables on the grid, these 8-hour and longer-duration systems are important in ensuring that the grid operates efficiently and cost-effectively and lowers consumers’ costs.”
Eku Energy secured an LTESA in Tender 5 for its 100MW/800MWh Griffith BESS in Yoogali. The Griffith BESS is anticipated to be in operation in 2028, will have an operational lifespan of over 20 years, and will connect to the National Electricity Market (NEM).
With an LTESA for the BESS secured, Saba told Energy-Storage.news at the time that construction on the site would take place sometime next year.
LTESAs and long-duration energy storage will be among the discussions at our publisher, Solar Media’s Battery Asset Management Summit Australia, which will take place on 26-27 August 2025 in Sydney. You can find out more and book your ticket via the website.
