The Australian government has announced the results of Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS) Tender 8, selecting 15 battery energy storage projects across the National Electricity Market (NEM), totalling 4.2GW/16.1GWh.
In doing so, this fractionally exceeds the 16GWh indicative target that the tender opened with in November 2025.
The fifteen successful projects span New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria, and are expected to create more than 6,800 jobs across construction, operations and maintenance over their operational lifetimes.
Subject to final contracts, developers have committed more than AU$60 million (US$41 million) to community benefit sharing, AU$220 million to First Nations benefits, and AU$50 million to Australian-made steel.
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Queensland received the largest allocation, with six projects selected totalling more than 6GWh of storage.
| Developer | Project Name | Size (MW/MWh) | Location | State |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ampyr Energy | Grahams Battery | 350MW/1,428MWh | Kogan | Queensland |
| Ampyr Energy | Rutherglen Battery | 400MW/1,602MWh | Bororen | Queensland |
| Ampyr Energy | Bulabul 1 Battery | 300MW/600MWh | Wuuluman | New South Wales |
| Ampyr Energy | Wimpole Battery | 375MW/1,533MWh | Bunyip North | Victoria |
| Edify Energy | Ganymirra Energy Storage System | 250MW/1,000MWh | Majors Creek | Queensland |
| Edify Energy | Majors Creek Energy Storage System | 250MW/1,000MWh | Majors Creek | Queensland |
| Akaysha Energy | Oaky Creek BESS | 250MW/1,000MWh | Ellesmere | Queensland |
| Lightsource bp | Woonga Creek BESS | 350MW/1,223MWh | Lower Wonga | Queensland |
| Ascera Energy | Gelston Energy Park | 400MW/1,600MWh | McCullys Gap | New South Wales |
| Potentia Energy | Ridgey Creek BESS | 130MW/520MWh | Parkes | New South Wales |
| Potentia Energy | Blanche BESS | 125MW/508MWh | Compton | South Australia |
| Potentia Energy | Emeroo BESS | 225MW/900MWh | Wami Kata | South Australia |
| Equis Australia | Melbourne Renewable Energy Hub Side B | 200MW/800MWh | Plumpton | Victoria |
| HMC Capital | Moorabool Battery | 300MW/1,200MWh | Moorabool | Victoria |
| Eku Energy | Byellee BESS | 300MW/1,160MWh | Byellee | Victoria |
| TOTAL | 15 Projects | 4,205MW/16,074MWh |
Ampyr Energy secured three of those six contracts: the 350MW/1,428MWh Grahams Battery in Kogan and the 400MW/1,602MWh Rutherglen Battery in Bororen, alongside a third NSW project discussed below.
Edify Energy secured two Queensland contracts, the 250MW/1,000MWh Ganymirra Energy Storage System and 250MW/1,000MWh Majors Creek Energy Storage System, both located at Majors Creek.
Akaysha Energy’s 250MW/1,000MWh Oaky Creek BESS in Ellesmere and Lightsource bp’s 350MW/1,223MWh Woonga Creek BESS in Lower Wonga complete the Queensland cohort.
New South Wales received three projects: Ampyr Energy’s 300MW/600MWh Bulabul 1 Battery in Wuuluman, Ascera Energy’s 400MW/1,600MWh Gelston Energy Park in McCullys Gap, and Potentia Energy’s 130MW/520MWh Ridgey Creek BESS in Parkes.
South Australia secured two contracts, both to Potentia Energy: the 125MW/508MWh Blanche BESS in Compton and the 225MW/900MWh Emeroo BESS in Wami Kata.
Victoria’s four successful projects include Equis Australia’s 200MW/800MWh Melbourne Renewable Energy Hub Side B in Plumpton, HMC Capital’s 300MW/1,200MWh Moorabool Battery in Moorabool, and Ampyr Energy’s 375MW/1,533MWh Wimpole Battery in Bunyip North.
Eku Energy’s 300MW/1,160MWh Byellee BESS in Byellee rounds out the list of fifteen.
Ampyr Energy’s four contracts, Bulabul 1, Grahams, Rutherglen and Wimpole, make it the largest single developer by project count in this round. Potentia Energy secured three contracts across two states, while Edify Energy and Akaysha Energy each won two.
A tender that meets its target and sets up a final round
As Energy-Storage.news reported in November 2025, Tender 8 was the largest single energy storage procurement under the CIS programme, targeting 4GW/16GWh of clean dispatchable capacity in the NEM with a minimum 4-hour duration requirement.
The final result of 4.2GW/16.1GWh nominally exceeds that indicative target, following the pattern established by Tender 3, the only prior NEM-specific dispatchable tender, which awarded 4.13GW/15.37GWh against a 16GWh goal.
Tender 3 awarded over 15GWh of energy storage to successful applicants, while Tender 4 supported 11.4GWh of solar-plus-storage projects.
The technology profile of Tender 8 mirrors that of Tender 3 entirely. As with the previous dispatchable round, all fifteen successful projects are standalone lithium-ion battery storage systems rather than pumped hydro or other alternative technologies, despite the tender being technology-neutral and open to compressed air energy storage and pumped hydro under its eligibility rules.
The duration profile of the fifteen projects ranges from just over 4-hours at the Ridgey Creek BESS to more than 5-hours at the Rutherglen Battery and Byellee BESS, with the majority clustered around the 4-hour minimum.
The concentration of projects in Queensland reflects both the volume of storage development activity in that state and the pace at which Queensland’s grid is absorbing renewable energy generation as coal plants retire.
Storage deployment in Queensland has been documented, accelerating sharply over the past 12 months, with the state becoming the first in the NEM to discharge over 100GWh from battery storage in a single month.
The CIS Tender 8 contracts will add a further 6GWh-plus to that fleet once the projects reach commercial operations, which all are required to do before 31 December 2029.
The tender’s completion is immediately followed by the opening of CIS Tender 10, also targeting 4GW of clean, dispatchable capacity in the NEM, with bids closing on 18 August 2026.
The government has flagged that Tender 10 is likely to be the final CIS dispatchable tender, subject to overall CIS targets being met through its outcomes. Tender 9, the latest NEM generation round, opened on 25 May 2026 seeking 5GW of renewable energy capacity, with outcomes expected in November 2026, running in parallel with Tender 10’s dispatchable focus.
The combined scale of storage now contracted through the CIS programme continues to grow with each round.
Western Australia’s tenders have added further capacity outside the NEM. CIS Tenders 5 and 6 for the WEM awarded contracts to three battery storage projects totalling 3.683GWh of dispatchable capacity, exceeding the 2.4GWh initial target by more than 50%, with all projects due to be operational by 2030.
Interested in Australia? Read Energy-Storage.news’ Energy Storage Summit Australia coverage and related content.
