New South Wales will launch its second gigawatt-scale tender for renewable energy generation and long-duration storage capacity in the coming week, electricity and gas systems manager AEMO Services announced in line with the Aussie state’s wider energy transition plan.
Monday, May 22, has been set as the opening date for the tender, the unit of the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) said on Friday. The competitive round will target around 950 MW of renewables production and 550 MW of battery projects offering at least eight hours of storage, but more could be awarded “if it is in the long-term financial interest” of consumers.
The planned tender will commence a few weeks after New South Wales completed its inaugural renewable energy auction that awarded 1.4 GW of wind, solar and battery storage projects. The solicitations are being held under the state’s Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap, which is intended to support the deployment of 12 GW of renewable and 2 GW of long-duration storage capacity by 2030 with twice-yearly auctions.
The maiden tender was met with huge interest, luring bids for over 5.5 GW of wind and solar and 2.5 GW of storage.
“We designed our tenders specifically to allow unsuccessful proponents to submit subsequent bids at minimal additional cost to them,” said AEMO Services’ Chair Paul Moy. He pointed out that many of the non-winning projects in the first round are expected to improve their offers and succeed in the second tender edition.
Winners will be granted 20-year long-term energy service agreements (LTESAs).
Source: renewablesnow
