The rate of grid registrations for wind, solar and battery projects has surged in the last six months, with the capacity of projects given the go-ahead to connect to the grid double that of the previous 12 months.
New data released by the Australian Energy Market Operator shows that with 1.7 gigawatts (GW`) of new projects were registered in the December quarter, taking the total since July 1 to 5.2 GW – more than double the previous 12 months.
Margarida Pimentel, the head of AEMO’s onboarding and connections group, says the big increase in projects that have been built and can now move through the commissioning process reflects the “wave” of application approvals in 2023.
That wave continues, with another 7.5 GW of project application approvals over the past six months, similar to the same period in 2023. The rate increased in the last quarter, with 4.9 GW of new project application approvals.
And, as previously reported on Renew Economy, the number of projects progressing through the connection process now stands at 49.6 GW , up from 36.4 GW at the end of 2023.
“Given the NEM’s (National Electricity Market) total generation and storage capacity of 66 GW, nearly 50 GW of new projects marks a significant pipeline of future energy supply,” Pimentel said in a statement.
The capacity of projects reaching full output, and finishing what can sometimes be a lengthy commissioning process, also reached 2.2 GW in the latest six months, equivalent to the capacity completed in the previous 12 months.
Those projects reaching full output included the 205 MW Ryan Corner wind farm, the 76 MW Girgarre solar farm, the 200 MW, 400 MWh Rangebank battery in Victoria (pictured at top) – all in Victoria – and the much delayed Tailem Bend hybrid facility (combining a second stage solar farm with a 49 MW/MWh battery) in South Australia.
The numbers released in the latest AEMO Connections Scorecard will be seen as validation of both AEMO’s Integrated System Plan and the federal government’s energy policies, although it remains to be seen if the country can roll out new projects quickly enough to meet the target of 82 per cent renewables by 2032.
The federal government is also contracting record numbers of new projects through its series of auction under the Capacity Investment Scheme. More than 6GW of new wind and solar capacity was awarded in the first auction completed in December, while a second auction is now underway.
Grid capacity, and the delays and cost overruns of key transmission projects, remain the biggest – although not the only – hurdle.
In the latest period, AEMO says solar projects led registration approvals in the December quarter with a total of 831 megawatts (MW), followed by wind (440 MW), batteries (350 MW), and upgrades to existing facilities (49 MW).
