Australia announces backing for 32GW of renewables investment

November 23, 2023
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
The government said that this capacity is equivalent to roughly half of the demand on Australia’s national energy market. Image: CEFC

The Australian government will underwrite 32GW of renewable energy generation and energy storage capacity in an attempt to stimulate investment into the country’s energy transition.

Minister for climate change and energy Chris Bowen today announced plans for an expansion of the existing Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS) and National Energy Transformation Partnership (NETP) programmes to facilitate 9GW of dispatchable capacity and 23GW of variable capacity nationally.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

The government said that this capacity is equivalent to roughly half of the demand on Australia’s national energy market (NEM).

The Australian solar sector has grown considerably in recent years, with the Australian PV Institute reporting that cumulative capacity installations reached 32.7GW in August this year, up from 28.2GW in August 2022 and 16.2GW at the start of the decade, and the sector could benefit from the additional funding opportunities put forward by the government.

This announcement follows reports from Australia’s Clean Energy Council (CEC), which found the first half of 2023 to be the slowest period for private investment in new renewables generation since it began keeping records in 2017. Given the country’s plans to retire over 60% its aging fleet of coal plants in the next decade, the CEC said that investment trends in Australia were “concerning” for the country’s energy security.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Bowen said that “we need to ensure we’re getting on new energy to replace the aging coal fire power stations … I want to bring that energy on quickly, I want this transformation to be faster, but also more orderly.”

Hitherto, Australian government action to stimulate investment had been inconsistent. The CEC published research earlier in the year calling for an AU$100 billion (US$65 billion) investment into the energy transition in the style of the US’ Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which made US$369 billion available in structured incentives for clean energy deployment and manufacturing.

The CIS operates under a “contracts for difference” model, where the government underwrites investments into new renewables projects through competitive auctions. The government said that it will not disclose the expected costs of CIS contracts in order to “achieve the best bang for buck for taxpayers”. Auctions will reportedly run at six-monthly intervals.

In addition to the expanded CIS – which had its first pilot auction in New South Wales this week – the central commonwealth government will establish new bilateral agreements with states and territories under the NETP.  These agreements will call for objective benchmarks, an orderly transition, and potential strategic reserves, and around half of the available CIS capacity will be allocated subject to these terms.

There will be a feature-length piece on the recent landscape of Australian renewables investments in the upcoming December edition of our downstream journal, PV Tech Power.

25 November 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Large Scale Solar Central and Eastern Europe continues to be the place to leverage a network that has been made over more than 10 years, to build critical partnerships to develop solar projects throughout the region.

Read Next

October 29, 2025
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has provided US$142 million in financing for the construction of a 1GW solar and 1.3GWh BESS portfolio in Uzbekistan.
Premium
October 28, 2025
BESS are 'the new player that everyone is talking about,' in Europe’s power purchase agreement (PPA) space, according to LevelTen.
October 28, 2025
GoldenPeaks Capital secures EUR114 million (US$132 million) financing package for two solar PV Portfolio in Poland.
October 27, 2025
Australian solar developer, BNRG Leeson, has submitted plans for a 440MW solar PV facility in Victoria's Campaspe Shire to Australia’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.
October 23, 2025
The average price of a solar PPA signed in Europe in Q3 2025 fell below €35/MWh, reaching €34.25/MWh, according to LevelTen Energy.
October 23, 2025
Infrastructure investment firm Nuveen Infrastructure has secured US$171 million in financing for a 137MW solar PV plant in South Korea.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Upcoming Webinars
November 12, 2025
10am PST / 1pm EST
Solar Media Events
November 25, 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Solar Media Events
December 2, 2025
Málaga, Spain
Solar Media Events
February 3, 2026
London, UK
Solar Media Events
March 10, 2026
Frankfurt, Germany