Victoria has become the first state in Australia’s National Electricity Market (NEM) to achieve more than 1GW of simultaneous battery storage charging.
On Tuesday (23 September) at 13:45, Victoria’s battery energy storage fleet set a new record with 1,049.3MW of charging capacity, according to Geoff Eldridge, NEM and energy transition observer at consultancy Global Power Energy.
This represents a 33% increase from the previous record of 789.1MW set just 11 days earlier on 12 September and a 480% surge from the 181MW record set one year ago.
The achievement highlights the rapid deployment of battery energy storage systems (BESS) across Victoria, which has been at the forefront of Australia’s energy storage buildout.
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The state has legislated goals to deliver at least 2.6GW of energy storage capacity by 2030 and 6.3GW by 2035, supporting its target of 95% renewable energy by 2035.
When the record was set, Victoria’s electricity mix included 2,101MW of rooftop solar PV generation, 2,172MW of wind and 610MW of utility-scale solar. Coal generation was reduced to 2,058MW, while total demand stood at 3,892MW, with 280MW being imported from neighbouring states.
Despite the substantial battery charging capacity, 276MW of renewable energy was curtailed at the record moment, with curtailment peaking at 906MW during the day and averaging 247MW.
The achievement comes as battery energy storage continues to set records across Australia’s NEM. As reported by Energy-Storage.news in August, grid-scale battery energy storage discharge reached an all-time quarterly high in Q2 2025, averaging 162MW across the NEM.
According to data in the Australian Energy Market Operator’s (AEMO) latest Quarterly Energy Dynamics report, this represents a 119% increase compared to the same period last year.
Victoria’s BESS fleet continues to grow
The state’s battery fleet has expanded significantly in recent months, with several major projects coming online.
These include the 100MW/200MWh Latrobe Valley Battery, which was commissioned in Q2 2025, and the 185MW/370MWh Koorangie grid-forming BESS, which began operations in Q1 2025 and entered full operation in July.
With several additional large-scale BESS projects under construction or recently approved in Victoria – including Trina Solar’s 500MW/1,000MWh Kiewa Valley project and Pacific Green’s 1GW/2.5GWh Portland Energy Park – the state’s storage capacity is expected to continue its rapid growth trajectory through 2026 and beyond.
Alongside records set across the NEM for battery energy storage, renewable energy generation continues to achieve new milestones as the country transitions into spring.
Our sister site PV Tech recently reported that the NEM set a new instantaneous renewable energy share record of 78.6% earlier this week. This was set less than 24 hours after the previous record was set at 77.9%.
Rooftop solar’s contribution peaked at 45.9% of total demand, representing nearly half of all electricity consumed across the five NEM states and territories. This solar penetration forced coal generation down to a historic minimum of 21.9%, while combined coal and gas generation fell to just 22.5% of the mix.
Our publisher, Solar Media, will host the Battery Asset Management Summit Australia 2025 on 26-27 August in Sydney. You can get 20% off your ticket using the code ESN20 at checkout.
