Australia’s federal government has added 11 new generation and energy storage projects to its National Renewable Energy Priority List.

Developer BLT Energy has received development approval for the 800MW/4,800MWh Red Gully BESS in Western Australia.

Western Power has started construction on 18 community battery energy storage systems across Perth and Bunbury in Western Australia.

MGA Thermal and Knode have commenced a Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED) study for a 195MWh electro-thermal energy storage project at Tronox’s Kwinana facility in Western Australia.

Mining giant Fortescue has commenced construction on a 650MWh battery energy storage system at Cloudbreak in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, alongside the 690MW Turner River solar PV power plant.

Australia has emerged as the world’s third-largest utility-scale battery energy storage market, with 4.3GW of large-scale battery storage systems reaching financial close in 2025.

Utility-scale battery storage systems in Western Australia supplied 37.2% of peak demand on 9 May, marking one of the highest battery storage penetration levels recorded in an isolated grid globally.

The Australian government has announced the results of Capacity Investment Scheme Tenders 5 and 6 for WA, awarding contracts to 10 projects.

BESS in Australia’s NEM more than tripled their daytime-to-evening energy shifting in the first quarter of 2026, according to AEMO.

Australian mining giant Fortescue has accelerated its timeline for deploying 4-5GWh of battery energy storage systems (BESS) paired with 1.8GW of renewable energy generation, which it now expects to begin commercial operation by 2028.