Federal and state governments identify 56 priority wind, solar, battery and transmission projects

The Australian federal government has identified 56 projects – spread across wind, solar, battery, hybrid and transmission – that will have “priority” status as Canberra and individual states rush to meet their renewable energy targets.

The creation of the National Renewable Energy priority list was agreed by state and federal energy ministers, and the projects identified on the list will be provided coordinated support for regulatory, planning and environmental approvals.

The inaugural list – it is likely to be expanded in the future, pending of course on the result of the next election – identifies 24 transmission and 32 generation and storage projects, totalling 16 gigawatts (GW) of wind and solar capacity and 6 GW of storage capacity (of varying durations).

The generation and storage list comprises 14 wind projects, 3 wind and battery hybrids, two wind and solar hybrids, no solar only projects, 5 solar and battery hybrids, four standalone battery projects, and two pumped hydro projects – which is probably a fair summary of the main generation priorities on the grid right now.

“The Priority List adopts a ‘faster to yes, faster to no’ approach,” the government says. “Identified projects will receive additional support and facilitation through regulatory and environmental processes. They will still have the same scrutiny applied as any other project and continue to be required to meet all statutory requirements.”

Some of the wind and solar projects have already made it through the environment approval process, including the Liverpool Range and Spicers Creek wind projects which both received the federal green tick just last week.

Others are not mentioned, such as Acen Renewables’ hotly contested Robbins Island wind project in Tasmania that has had its federal approval delayed again – probably till after the election – despite a recent court win against objecting parties.

Acen, however, does have a project included in the priority list, the 900 MW Valley of the Winds project that is one of 19 winners of the federal government’s Capacity Investment Scheme.

Other CIS winners included in the priority list are Elgin Energy’s Barwon solar and storage project, Neoen’s Goyder North wind project, the Solar River solar and battery project, and Ark Energy’s Patrick Plains wind project.

Others of note are Windlab’s Bungapan wind and battery project in Queensland, which has signed a long term PPA with Rio Tinto to help power its Gladstone smelter and refinery assets beyond 2030. The battery component appears to be new.

Also of note are the Australian Renewable Energy Hub, at least the first 1,000 MW of a possible 26 GW project combining wind and solar that could service the giant Pilbara iron ore mines, and the Yindjibarndi Energy Corporation’s Baru-Marnda project that is in the same area and will target the same customers.

The Limestone Coast battery and the Hallett battery in South Australia have both received some form of underwriting agreement, as has the Richmond Valley solar and battery project in NSW, which will feature one of the largest eight-hour batteries in the country.

The transmission list also includes several projects that are already in “post approvals” phase, including Project Energy Connect, the new link between South Australia and NSW, and transmission projects linked with Snowy Hydro, including Humelink and VNI West.

But it also includes Marinus Link, between Tasmania and Victoria, the Queensland Copperstring project between Townsville and Mt Isa, and various renewable energy zones in NSW and Queensland, plus the Pilbara transmission project and various links badly needed in Western Australian.

In fact, W.A. has done reasonably well with five transmission projects, and three wind projects, and the two huge wind and solar projects to service the Pilbara.

“Australians are paying the price of a decade of dysfunction, delay and denial – which has left our ageing energy grid too exposed to international prices spikes and overly reliant on expensive coal,” federal climate and energy minister Chris Bowen said in a statement.

“The Albanese Government is fixing the Coalition’s costly energy mess, by bringing online more reliable renewable power to secure our energy grid and make it more affordable for everyone.

“The Priority list will help all levels of government to prioritise these projects through various regulatory processes, providing greater certainty to the industry and local communities awaiting decisions.

Additional funding was provided in the 2024-25 Commonwealth Budget to ensure that Priority List efforts do not adversely affect the consideration of other projects.

“Additionally, statutory timeframes under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) are applicable for all projects, further reducing the risk of delays to project consideration by the Commonwealth Environment Regulator.

“This measure provides increased regulatory capacity so that the department can enhance its services for identified priority projects. This will help proponents to accelerate their own project assessment timeframes.

” The suite of additional services includes additional engagement and guidance to identify and resolve potential issues early. This will reduce risk of delays to timeframes.”