A surge in grid‑scale batteries is driving strong growth in the pipeline of new generation and storage projects seeking to connect to the National Electricity Market (NEM), with total proposed capacity now nearing today’s installed levels.
The Australian Energy Market Operator’s (AEMO) latest Connections Scorecard shows 67.3 gigawatts (GW) of projects progressing through the NEM connection process, compared with around 73 GW of existing NEM generation and storage capacity (excluding consumer energy resources). Batteries account for around half of the total pipeline capacity.
AEMO tracks new generation and storage projects as they move through the connection process each quarter, from initial application through to registration and commissioning to full output.
AEMO Group Manager, Onboarding and Connections, Margarida Pimentel said the overall project pipeline has increased 33 per cent from 50.5 GW at the end of Q1 2025 to 67.3 GW in Q1 2026.
“There is positive momentum across the connections pipeline, with strong growth in projects progressing through the early stages of the application process,” Ms Pimentel said.
“Projects in application stage, where the performance of project design is assessed, increased by 51 per cent over the past year, from 19.7 GW to 29.8 GW, with 18 projects totalling 5.5 GW in the March quarter alone,” she said.
Ms Pimentel said it was critical that projects continued to move through registration and commissioning to deliver energy and capacity to the market.
“We’re seeing a continued trend of projects taking longer in the proponent implementation phase, due to prolonged funding uncertainty, project ownership changes, supply chain and resource constraints, and design modifications,” Ms Pimentel said.
“What’s important is that these projects continue through to registration and commissioning to full output, so they can support reliability and the transition of the power system,” she said.
This new capacity will help meet an anticipated 28 per cent rise in electricity demand by 2035, while also offsetting the planned retirement of 11 GW of predominantly coal‑fired power stations over the next 10 years, including Eraring, Bayswater and Vales Point (NSW), Yallourn (VIC), and Callide B (QLD).
By technology type over the past year, standalone battery capacity in the pipeline increased from 20.5 GW to 33.2 GW, while grid-scale solar rose from 17.7 GW to 20.7 GW and wind from 8.32 GW to 9.75 GW. Hydro remained stable at 3 GW, while gas capacity decreased by 74 per cent, from 0.9 GW to 0.2 GW, with the Hunter Power Station commissioning to full output.
Batteries now comprise 49 per cent of total capacity in the NEM connections pipeline, with around 74 per cent of battery projects being grid-forming.
For the March 2026 quarter, eight projects totalling 1.4 GW received application approvals, eight projects totalling 1.5 GW were registered, and five projects totalling 1.4 GW reached full output, including:
- Hunter Power Station (660 MW)
- Clarke Creek Wind Farm (440 megawatts)
- Swanbank Battery Energy Storage System (250 MW / 500 megawatt hours)
- Limondale Battery Energy Storage System (50 MW / 400 MWh)
- Wangaratta Solar Farm (22 MW).
The Connections Scorecard is published quarterly and provides transparency on the progress of generation and storage projects through the NEM connection process.
ENDS
For more information, please contact AEMO Media:
[email protected]
0409 382 121
About AEMO
AEMO is responsible for operating Australia’s largest gas and electricity markets and power systems in the best interests of Australian energy consumers. These include the National Electricity Market and interconnected power system in Australia’s eastern and south-eastern seaboard, the Wholesale Electricity Market and power system in Western Australia, the Victorian gas transmission system and gas markets across Australia.
As Australia’s independent energy markets and power systems operator, AEMO provides critical planning, forecasting and power systems security advice and services to deliver energy security for all Australians. AEMO is a not-for profit entity. For more information, head to www.aemo.com.au.