Australia raises target for Capacity Investment Scheme

The additional 8 GW will be for generation and energy storage.

Australia has announced an increase in its capacity target for the Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS) to 40 gigawatts (GW) from 32 GW.

The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water said 8 GW of new capacity was added due to falling renewable energy development costs. By 2030, this will include 5 GW dedicated to energy storage and 3 GW for generation.

CIS has had six oversubscribed tenders launched to date. It is on track to deliver 18 GW of generation and dispatchable storage projects.

“The uplift is expected to support investment of around $21b in storage capacity.  Investments near $52b are expected in solar and wind technologies,” the department said.

Amongst the benefits of the renewable generation and dispatchable projects are creating jobs within local communities, replacing ageing coal plants and supporting rising demand.