New CIS tender for wind and solar formally opens, as Portugal’s EDP flags early start on solar hybrid projects

The federal government has formally opened its latest tender for large scale wind and solar, just days after announcing the winners of its latest generation tender in the race to reach its 2030 renewable energy target.

The new tender under the Capacity Investment Scheme will seek at least five gigawatts of new generation capacity in the first to feature a fast-tracked process that will announce the winners next May.

So far the CIS has announced around 13 GW of new capacity in two generation tenders, with the latest round dominated by solar battery hybrids that will deliver another 3 GW and 11.4 GWh of battery storage capacity.

Tenders are also being held for “dispatchable” generation, essentially standalone battery projects, with the most recent securing 16 projects totalling 4.13 GW and 15.37 GWh of capacity to the National Electricity Market and a similar sized new tender to be launched next month. Separate tenders are being held for the W.A. market.

Meanwhile, Portugal’s EDP Renewables has flagged it will move quickly on the two flagship solar battery hybrid projects that won underwriting agreements in the latest generation tender.

This includes reaching financial close on the 400 MW Punchs Creek solar farm with a 400 MW/1,600 MWh battery near Millmerran in southern Queensland, which has planning and connection approvals and has already started early work. This project is expected to be completed by early 2029.

EDP is still working through planning and connection processes for the slightly bigger 450 MW Merino solar project with a 450 MW/1,800 MWh battery near Goulburn in NSW, and expects to reach “ready to build” status later in 2026.

EDP says it has a pipeline of 4 gigawatts of projects in Australia, including around 30 “town scale” projects of up to 5 megawatts (MW) that it inherited through the purchase of Australian company ITP Development.

But it says its focus in on hybrid projects, and it aims to deploy more than 2GW of solar, wind and storage by 2030 in the NEM.

It says the two solar hybrid projects already in train will generate approximately 2.2 TWh of clean and renewable energy annually, and will meet the needs equivalent to 380,000 households at times of peak demand.

“This CIS award is a testament to EDP’s leadership and proven track record in delivering large-scale, high-quality renewable projects,” Miguel Fonseca, CEO of EDP Renewables APAC, said in a statement.

“With over $A2 billion planned investment and a 4GW pipeline, EDP is accelerating our contribution to the country’s renewable energy targets. This reflects our strong belief in Australia’s potential and our commitment to leading its energy transformation.”

The new generation tender, known as Tender 7, will include several key clauses that include the exclusion of solar and solar hybrid projects from Victoria – because that state wants to focus on wind energy in the new tender – and a 2 GW cap for NSW.