Australia launches largest renewable energy tender

The first auction is scheduled for late May.

The Australian government has launched a six-gigawatt (GW) new variable renewable energy tender project for the National Electricity Market under the Capacity Investment Scheme, the largest single renewable tender in the country.

In a statement, the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, said 2.2 GW of the capacity for tender, which could power over one million households, is allocated for New South Wales.

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Another 300 megawatts of renewable energy will be dedicated to South Australia.

“We are getting on with the job of delivering practical solutions to keep the lights on for households and businesses using the cheapest, cleanest form of power – reliable renewable energy,” Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen said.

“The rain doesn’t always fall, but we always have water on tap because we store it for when we need it – our energy plan does just the same thing for reliable renewables,” Bowen said. “Our plan is delivering the certainty and confidence the market needs to deliver the energy we need, when we need it.