Australian Big Batteries Hit 7.1 GWh in H1 2026, Topping All of 2025

• Australia commissioned nine utility-scale batteries with 2.3 GW / 7.1 GWh in H1 2026, more than in all of 2025, the Clean Energy Council said.
• Twelve generation projects with 2.6 GW reached financial close, against 2.3 GW for 2025; 11 of them were solar or solar hybrids.
• More wind projects closed financing in the second half, the council said; they will appear in its next report.

Australia commissioned nine utility-scale batteries with 2.3 GW / 7.1 GWh in the first half of 2026, more than in all of 2025. The Clean Energy Council published the figures in a report on Oct. 26.

Generation commitments also passed last year's total. Twelve projects with 2,623 MW reached financial close from January to June, against 2,283 MW across 2025. Eleven were solar farms or solar hybrids, led by the 690-MW Turner River Solar Hub in Western Australia. The one wind farm, the 133-MW Nullagine project, made up 5% of the capacity.

The new batteries represent A$4.3 billion ($3.0 billion) of investment, almost twice the A$2.2 billion commissioned in 2025. The largest is the 500-MW / 2,400-MWh Collie battery in Western Australia. The average new battery holds 792 MWh, up from 427 MWh.

The half-year in numbers

• 2,623 MW of generation reached financial close, 15% more than in all of 2025 (list.solar calculation).
• 92% of new generation reaching financial close was solar, according to the council.
• 7,132 MWh of storage was commissioned, 39% more than the 5,124 MWh added in 2025 (list.solar calculation).
• About A$601 ($422) of investment per kWh of commissioned storage, based on A$4.287 billion for 7,132 MWh (list.solar calculation).
• 141 projects worth about A$32.5 billion ($22.8 billion) are at financial close or under construction.
• A$63 ($44) per MWh was the average spot price in the National Electricity Market in the third quarter, down 15% from the second, AEMO data show.

Commissioned generation looks different. Five projects with 1.4 GW and more than A$2.8 billion of investment started operating. Wind led: 756 MW came from the first stage of the Golden Plains wind farm in Victoria. New storage commitments slowed to 1.6 GW / 6.5 GWh across 13 projects, below 6.6 GWh a year earlier. Projects backed by the federal Capacity Investment Scheme made up 71% of new storage energy capacity at financial close, the council said.

NEM wholesale prices averaged A$74 per MWh in the June quarter, down 47% on a year earlier, the report said. In the September quarter, batteries supplied more of the evening peak than gas-fired plants for the first time.

Keeping the momentum "will require predictable approvals, timely transmission and long-term revenue certainty," CEO Jackie Trad said. More wind projects reached financial close in the second half, including the 408-MW Gawara Baya wind and battery project in Queensland.