Highlights

The first quarter of 2025 was characterised by a sustained period of significant investment commitments to energy storage projects, whereas new large-scale renewable generation projects experienced a slow start following a robust final quarter in 2024. Six storage projects, representing 1,510 MW of capacity and 5,016 MWh of energy output, reached financial close during this period. This represents the second-highest quarterly result on record for new financially committed storage projects in terms of energy output. In contrast, only two generation projects reached financial commitment, totalling 386 MW of new capacity.

Operational progress continued with five generation projects commissioned during the quarter, adding a total operating capacity of 756 MW. Additionally, two storage projects were commissioned, contributing 56 MW of capacity and 98 MWh of energy output. Currently, the project pipeline includes 82 renewable electricity generation projects that have reached financial commitment or are under construction, representing 12,544 MW of capacity. There are also 69 committed storage projects (standalone or hybrid) in the pipeline, equivalent to 12,532 MW and 32,078 MWh of energy output.

Project tracker

Several significant projects reached critical milestones in Q1 2025. The generation projects reaching financial commitment included the Bungama Solar Farm in South Australia (280 MW) and the Lancaster Solar Farm in Victoria (106 MW). The storage sector saw six major batteries reach financial close: the Bungama Battery Energy Storage System – Stage 1 (150 MW / 300 MWh), Calala Battery (250 MW / 500 MWh), Limestone Coast North Energy Park (250 MW / 500 MWh), Summerfield Battery (240 MW / 960 MWh), Supernode Battery Stage 2 (270 MW / 1,356 MWh), and the Wooreen Battery Energy Storage System (350 MW / 1,400 MWh).

Commissioning was completed for several large-scale assets, including the 300 MW Walla Walla Solar Farm in New South Wales and the 218 MW Ryan Corner Wind Farm in Victoria. Other projects reaching the commissioned stage included the Girgarre Solar Project, Hawkesdale Wind Farm, and the hybrid Tropicana Gold Mine Power Station. The Tailem Bend Battery Project also reached commissioning in South Australia.

Project pipeline

The total capital investment for projects currently in financial commitment or under construction stands at $37.491 billion. Queensland leads the states in total project capital investment with $10.752 billion across 30 projects, followed closely by Victoria with $9.498 billion and New South Wales with $7.882 billion. In terms of generation capacity within the pipeline, Queensland holds 4,460 MW, New South Wales has 3,304 MW, and Victoria has 3,048 MW. The storage pipeline is dominated by New South Wales with 8,255 MWh of energy output, followed by Queensland with 8,442 MWh.

Generation projects

New investment activity in large-scale solar and wind reached $410 million in the quarter, which is 80 per cent lower than the revised rolling 12-month quarterly average of just over $2 billion. This was the first time since Q3 2023 that quarterly generation investment fell below $1 billion. Despite the slow start, a large pipeline of nearly 10 GW of advanced-stage projects is expected to proceed to investment over the next 24 months, supported by government underwriting contracts such as the Capacity Investment Scheme.

Analysis of unit cost trends indicates that onshore wind projects have seen increased costs since 2020 due to higher commodity prices (particularly steel), transportation, and labour costs driven by supply chain constraints. Conversely, solar PV projects have maintained a downward trend in capital costs due to manufacturing scale and rapid technological development. On average, solar projects take 20 months to progress from financial commitment to commissioning, while wind projects require 26 months. To meet the Australian Government’s target of 82 per cent renewable energy by 2030, annual investment commitments must accelerate to 6-7 GW, or approximately 1.5 GW per quarter.

Energy storage projects

The $2.4 billion invested in new storage projects during Q1 2025 was 83 per cent higher than the rolling 12-month quarterly average. The average duration for new storage projects increased to 3.2 hours, up from 2.2 hours in the same quarter of the previous year. South Australia accounted for the largest share of financially committed storage projects by capacity (640 MW) and energy (1,760 MWh). The report also tracks long-duration energy storage (LDES), specifically pumped hydro energy storage (PHES). Currently, three PHES projects are under construction: Goat Hill (SA), Kidston (QLD), and Snowy 2.0 (NSW), the latter of which features a massive 350,000 MWh energy generation capacity.

Hybrid projects

There are 58 hybrid projects at various stages of development across Australia. The most common configuration is solar combined with battery storage, with 37 projects representing 4,488 MW of solar capacity and 2,245 MW of storage capacity. The total build cost for all hybrid projects in the development pipeline is estimated at $12.4 billion. Projects combining wind, solar, and battery storage have the highest total build cost per project category at $2.5 billion, representing 12 projects. New South Wales and South Australia host some of the largest hybrid assets, with storage attachment tending to be larger for solar systems compared to wind-based hybrids.