Australia's CIS Tender 7: 7.8 GW of Renewables and 7.9 GWh of Storage Awarded — Hybrid Solar-Storage Dominates

On May 27, 2026, the Australian government announced the outcome of the Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS) Tender 7 — NEM Generation round. The tender, which was targeting an indicative 5 GW of new renewable energy capacity, delivered 56% above target. According to pv magazine Australia, the successful projects span New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, and Tasmania, with substantial construction start dates through 2028 and commercial operations by 2030.

A tender that signals a market shift

The scale of CIS Tender 7 goes well beyond its headline numbers. Reuters reported that the tender was oversubscribed 3:1 — with roughly 60 GW of bids competing for the 7.8 GW awarded — a clear signal of developer confidence in Australia's renewable energy pipeline. Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen described the outcome as evidence that "market confidence is very high," according to the same report.

BloombergNEF provided pricing context that explains the oversubscription: average bid prices came in at an estimated floor of ~$38/MWh and ceiling of ~$68/MWh under the CIS two-sided contract-for-difference mechanism. These prices are approximately 15% lower than those seen in CIS Tender 6, reflecting falling equipment costs and improved financing conditions as the scheme matures. BNEF characterized the tender as the world's largest single procurement of battery storage capacity — the 7.9 GWh across 19 projects exceeds any previous national or subnational storage procurement globally.

Why hybrid solar-storage won the day

What distinguishes Tender 7 from previous rounds is the dominance of hybrid projects. Six solar-plus-storage and two wind-plus-storage projects were among the winners — a structural shift from the standalone wind and solar projects that characterized earlier CIS rounds.

The marquee hybrid projects, as detailed by pv magazine and corroborated by multiple sources, include:

• Birriwa Solar Farm + Battery (NSW) — 600 MW solar / 2,400 MWh battery, developed by Acen (Philippines) and Lightsource bp (UK)
• Gundary Solar Farm + Battery (NSW) — 320 MW solar / 1,391 MWh battery, Lightsource bp
• Dinawan Solar Farm + Battery (NSW) — 300 MW solar / 1,200 MWh battery, Spark Renewables (Malaysia)
• Wattle Creek Solar Farm + Battery (NSW) — 180 MW solar / 720 MWh battery, Spark Renewables
• Moranbah Solar Farm + Battery (Queensland) — 171 MW solar / 100 MWh battery, Zero-E (Grupo Cobra)
• Gunning Solar Farm + Battery (Queensland) — 290 MW solar / 542 MWh battery, Zero-E

RenewEconomy reported an important detail that adds context to the battery sizing: the minimum battery duration requirement was effectively doubled to 4 hours compared to CIS Tender 6's 2-hour threshold. This explains why projects like Birriwa (4-hour) and Gundary (4.3-hour) carry larger battery-to-solar ratios than would have been typical in previous rounds. RenewEconomy also noted that AGL's Loy Yang battery expansion was a late addition to the winning list, signaling that even incumbent fossil generators are pivoting to storage.

The CIS mechanism: a global benchmark

The Capacity Investment Scheme's two-sided contract-for-difference design is increasingly being studied by other governments. Under the mechanism, administered by AusEnergy Services Limited (ASL), projects receive a guaranteed revenue floor when wholesale electricity prices fall below a contracted level, and share revenue with the government when prices exceed an agreed ceiling. This reduces the cost of capital by 1–2 percentage points according to The Guardian, making marginal projects bankable.

The IEA's Australia 2026 Review singled out the CIS as the first large-scale two-sided CfD program in the Asia-Pacific region, noting that Australia now leads the G20 in renewable energy CfD adoption. The IEA's historical data shows that CIS Tenders 1 through 6 have already awarded 12.6 GW of generation and 8.5 GWh of storage — making Tender 7 the largest single round, bringing the cumulative CIS total to over 20 GW of generation and 16 GWh of storage.

Economic impact beyond megawatts

The economic ripples extend well beyond the power sector. Reuters estimated 3,500 direct construction jobs from Tender 7 alone, while the IEA calculated 8,000 indirect jobs when accounting for supply chain effects. The Guardian noted that AUD 3 billion of the total investment is expected to flow to local steel and cement suppliers. The Australian government's CIS portal further notes that nearly AUD 1.2 billion in social licence commitments were pledged by winning projects — including community benefit sharing, local hiring targets, and regional infrastructure investments.

The Australian government's broader CIS program page notes that Tender 7 is part of a AUD 65 billion total government-backed investment commitment across all CIS rounds, making it one of the largest coordinated clean energy procurement programs globally.

What's next: Tender 9 and beyond

ASL is already moving to the next round. According to the Clean Energy Council, CIS Tender 9 will open in June 2026 targeting 4.5 GW of generation and 3.6 GWh of storage, with bids due by August 25, 2026. The geographic focus this time is NSW (2.5 GW) and Victoria (2 GW). A notable development: pumped hydro with up to 12-hour duration may be eligible alongside 4-hour batteries, suggesting a growing emphasis on firming depth.

Reuters and BloombergNEF both flagged that the rapid succession of tender rounds — Tender 7 results announced late May, Tender 9 opening days later — demonstrates the Australian government's accelerated procurement cadence. This compressed timeline rewards developers who have refined hybrid system design workflows ready to deploy, rather than starting from scratch on each bid.

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For a deeper look at hybrid system design for competitive tenders, see our earlier analysis on BESS Capacity Sizing Optimization with Degradation-Aware Modeling and EMS Dispatch Strategy Comparison: Economic vs. Rule-Based Approaches.