Federal government expands renewable energy investment

The news: The Federal Government has green‑lit an expansion of its Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS) for clean renewable energy generation and storage projects across Australia.

The numbers: The expansion was approved following a pilot in New South Wales where six battery storage projects with a combined capacity of more than one gigawatt won bids through a CIS auction. The proposed expansion will begin in April, with six-monthly auctions to follow until 2027, taking the CIS to a total of 32 gigawatts nationally — equivalent to around half the current National Electricity Market servicing nearly 11 million customers.

The context: Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen, told ABC News Breakfast that the scheme will support the energy transition as part of the government's efforts to move to 82% renewables by 2030. The cost has not been revealed, with Bowen explaining that the auction process is guided by renewable energy developers submitting bids with minimum and maximum prices, and the government selecting the best value options.