6.3GW of energy storage capacity, consisting of batteries and pumped hydro, has been included within the Australian government’s inaugural National Renewable Energy Priority List.
An additional 16GW of renewable energy generation capacity has also been included in the list.
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The list, created through collaboration with the federal government and its states and territories, aims to provide coordinated support for regulatory planning and environmental approval processes for the identified priority renewable energy projects across Australia.
Australia’s inaugural Priority List identifies 56 priority projects nationally, including 24 transmission and 32 energy generation and storage projects.
Seven of these 32 energy generation and storage projects feature solar PV, amounting to 4,130MW of capacity. Many of these projects feature a co-located battery energy storage system (BESS) to optimise the power plant, a trend that has risen across the world in recent years.
Noteworthy projects to have been added to the Priority List include the 1,000MW Australian Renewable Energy Hub (AREH), a wind and solar hybrid project being pursued by AREH in Western Australia, and the Darwin Battery Energy Storage System (DBESS), which will feed into SunCable’s Australia-Asia PowerLink (AAPowerLink) interconnector project.
The AAPowerLink project is set to deploy between 17GW and 20GW of solar capacity and between 36.42GWh and 42GWh of energy storage to connect Australia’s Northern Territory with Singapore via 4,300km of subsea cable and supply power to the territory’s capital, Darwin, and the surrounding region. You can find the energy generation and storage Priority List projects below.
| Project name | Company | State/Territory | Technology | Capacity (in MW) |
| Australian Renewable Energy Hub (AREH) | AREH Pty Ltd | Western Australia | Wind + Solar | 1,000 |
| Baru-Marnda | Yindjibarndi Energy Corporation | Western Australia | Wind + Solar | 550 |
| Barwon Solar Farm | Elgin Energy | Victoria | Solar + Battery | Solar: 250 BESS: 250 |
| Bashan Wind Farm | Bashan Wind Farm Pty Ltd | Tasmania | Wind | 460 |
| Bell Bay Wind | Equis | Tasmania | Wind + Battery | Wind: 224 BESS: 100 |
| Boomer Green Energy Hub | Ark Energy | Queensland | Wind | 1,000 |
| Bundey BESS and Solar Project | Genaspi Energy Group | South Australia | Solar + Battery | Solar: 900 BESS: 1,200 |
| Bungaban renewable energy project | Windlab Developments | Queensland | Wind + Battery | Wind: 1,400 BESS: 350 |
| Cannie Wind Farm | RES | Victoria | Wind | 1,300 |
| Capricornia Energy Hub – Pumped Hydroelectric Energy Storage | Copenhagen Infrastructure V SCSp (CI V) through Eungella PHES Pty Ltd ATF Eungella PHES Trust |
Queensland | Pumped hydro energy storage | 750 |
| Cellars Hill | Cellars Hill Wind Farm Pty Ltd | Tasmania | Wind | 350 |
| Cobbora Solar Farm | Pacific Partnerships Pty Ltd | New South Wales | Solar + Battery | Solar: 700 BESS: 400 |
| Darlington Wind Farm | Global Power Generation Australia Pty Ltd | Victoria | Wind | 324 |
| Darwin Battery Energy Storage System (DBESS) | SunCable | Northern Territory | Battery | 100 |
| Goyder North Stage Wind Farm | Neoen Australia | South Australia | Wind | 800 |
| Hallett BESS | EnergyAustralia | South Australia | Battery | 50 |
| Hexham Wind Farm | Wind Prospect Pty Ltd | Victoria | Wind | 686 |
| Liverpool Range Wind Farm | Tilt Renewables | New South Wales | Wind | 1,332 |
| Moreton Hill Wind Farm | Squadron Energy | Victoria | Wind | 420 |
| Mount Rawdon Pumped Hydro Project | Mt Rawdon Pumped Hydro Pty Limited | Queensland | Pumed hydro energy storage | 2,000 |
| Narrogin | Neoen Australia | Western Australia | Wind | 200 |
| Pacific Green Energy Park – Limestone Coast West | Pacific Green | South Australia | Battery | 250 |
| Parron Wind Farm | Zephyr Energy | Western Australia | Wind | 490 |
| Repowering of Woolnorth Wind Farm (Studland Bay and Bluff Point) | Woolnorth Renewables | Tasmania | Wind | 350 |
| Richmond Valley Solar and BESS | Ark Energy | New South Wales | Solar + Battery | Solar: 500 BESS: 275 |
| Solar River Solar and BESS Project | Solar River I Project Trust | South Australia | Solar + Battery | Solar: 230 BESS: 256 |
| Spicers Creek Wind Farm | Squadron Energy | New South Wales | Wind | 702 |
| St Patricks Plains Wind Farm | Ark Energy | Tasmania | Wind | 300 |
| Territory Battery | Neoen Australia | Australian Capital Territory | Battery | 150 |
| Theodore Wind Farm | Theodore Energy Development Pty Ltd | Queensland | Wind + Battery | Wind: 1,100 BESS: 240 |
| Valley of the Winds | Acen Australia | New South Wales | Wind | 900 |
| Waddi Wind Farm | Tilt Renewables | Western Australia | Wind | 108 |
Readers of Energy-Storage.news will likely be aware of several energy storage developers whose projects have been included on the list. Some of these will attend and speak at our publisher, Solar Media’s, Energy Storage Summit Australia 2025, in Sydney from 18-19 March. You can get 20% off your ticket by following the link here.
For instance, Roby Camagong, director – investments at Equis Renewables, the developer behind the 100MW wind-plus-storage site in Tasmania included in the Priority List, will be discussing the potential of long-duration energy storage technology in Australia on day two of the event.
To read the full article, please visit our sister site PV Tech.
As we move into 2025, Australia is seeing real movement in emerging as a global ‘green’ superpower, with energy storage at the heart of this. This Summit will explore in-depth the ‘exponential growth of a unique market’, providing a meeting place for investors and developers’ appetite to do business. The second edition will shine a greater spotlight on behind-the-meter developments, with the distribution network being responsible for a large capacity of total energy storage in Australia. Understanding connection issues, the urgency of transitioning to net zero, optimal financial structures, and the industry developments in 2025 and beyond.
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