AEOM keeps growth momentum in December quarter

It saw 20 approved projects, 11 registered, and four reaching full output.

AEOM maintained its growth momentum as it saw an increase in new energy projects joining the National Electricity Market (NEM) in the December quarter.

AEOM reported 20 projects totalling 4.9 gigawatts (GW) secured application approval, 11 projects (1.7 GW) were registered, whilst four projects (0.6 GW) have reached full output.

“Project registrations in the last six months are more than double those in the previous 12 months,” said Margarida Pimentel, group manager of onboarding & connections at AEMO. “This surge reflects the wave of application approvals in 2023.”

Solar projects led registrations in the December quarter with 831 megawatts (MW), followed by wind (440 MW), batteries (350 MW), and upgrades to existing facilities (49 MW).

“These registered projects are built, connected to the grid and can now move through to the final commissioning phase,” Pimentel said.

Meanwhile, application approval volumes over the past six months are similar to the same period last year with 7.5 GW, whilst 2 GW achieved full output, compared to 2.2 GW through the entire FY 2024.

As of 31 December 2024, 49.6 GW of projects were progressing through the connections process, up from 36.4 GW at the end of 2023.

Around 36% of this capacity was in New South Wales, 32% in Queensland, 21% in Victoria, and 10% in South Australia.

“The scorecard data also reveals that 18.1 GW out of the 49.6 GW within the connections pipeline are battery projects, representing a 97% increase on the 9.2 GW in progress during the same time last year,” Pimentel said.

Improvements from the Connections Reform Initiative Streamlined Connections Process continued throughout the December quarter, further easing the process for projects to connect to the NEM.