Australia has surpassed the UK, ranking behind China and the US in terms of large-scale energy storage capacity, with a total of 14 GW/37 GWh of projects in or near financial close. This makes it the first country in the world to have over 1 GWh of utility-scale energy storage per million people.
With 14 GW/37 GWh of large-scale battery storage in or near financial close, Australia now ranks as the world's third-largest large-scale energy storage market, behind only China and the US. This reflects the capacity expected to come online over the next two years. Australia's battery project pipeline surged by 45 GW in a single year, from 109 GW in August 2024 to 154 GW a year later.
Australia is also the first country in the world to achieve over 1 GWh of utility-scale battery capacity per million people, far ahead of China and the US, both of which have less than 400 MWh of storage per million people.
The above data comes from the "Utility-Scale Battery Market Review - Australia, August 2025" released by independent research firm Rystad Energy.
David Dixon, senior analyst for Australian renewable energy research at Rystad, told pv magazine that while utility-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS) are a major success story for Australia's renewable energy sector, the country shouldn't have been the world's third-largest market.
According to the Australian Energy Market Operator's (AEMO) "Electricity Statement of Opportunities (ESOO)" for August 2025, actual electricity consumption in the country is projected to increase by 28% over the next decade.
The report shows that electricity consumption will be approximately 178 terawatt-hours in the 2024-25 fiscal year and is expected to reach 229 terawatt-hours by the 2034-35 fiscal year. AEMO's National Electricity Market Project Access Scorecard, released for the quarter ending June 2025, shows an accelerating pace of large-scale battery grid integration: During this period, 10 energy storage projects totaling 2.4 GW were approved, 6 projects totaling 866 MW were registered, and 3 projects totaling 485 MW were fully operational.
AEMO CEO Daniel Westerman stated that given the significant amount of fossil fuel generation capacity set to retire over the next decade, the timely delivery of new energy storage, generation, and transmission facilities, as well as the enhancement of behind-the-meter energy resources, are critical to ensuring power system reliability.
New energy storage investment is projected to exceed AU$21 billion (approximately US$14 billion) by 2030, supported by the Australian government's Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS). The sector is expected to be dominated by local utilities, with a small number of international developers dominating BESS investment and ownership in Australia. Active companies include clean energy developer Neoen, which completed grid commissioning of its 270 MW/540 MWh Western Darling Downs BESS Phase 2 project in September 2025, six weeks ahead of schedule.
Australian large-scale battery developer Akaysha Energy is also developing 4 GWh of BESS projects nationwide and has a 13 GWh pipeline, including the AU$1 billion (US$650 million) 850 MW/1.6 GWh Waratah Super Battery (WSB) project.
Developed, managed, and operated by Akaysha for the New South Wales (NSW) state-owned enterprise EnergyCo, the project comprises 3,598 lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery containers at the decommissioned Munmorra coal power station on the NSW Central Coast, 100 kilometers north of Sydney.
With support from partners including South Australian engineering company CPP, New South Wales transmission provider Transgrid, US BESS company Powin, and Spanish electronics company Eks Energy, Akaysha completed grid connection and registration for its first phase (350 MW/700 MWh) in August 2025.
Once fully operational, the project will provide at least 700 MW of continuous active power capacity and at least 1.4 GWh of usable energy storage. At an average of 21 kWh per household per day, this is enough energy to power 970,000 households for one hour, or 80,000 households for a full day. The facility is equipped with 288 Hitachi inverters, 144 medium-voltage transformers from Wilsons Transformers in Melbourne, and 3,598 Chinese-made battery cells (70% from Ruipu Lanjun and 30% from EVE Energy).
Testing and commissioning of the Waratah Battery began in early September 2025, moving it toward commercialization and providing a System Integrated Protection Scheme (SIPS) for the New South Wales power grid, ensuring power supply security for Sydney and the nearby cities of Newcastle and Wollongong.
The Waratah Super Battery is capable of responding to disturbances to the national grid caused by lightning strikes, wildfires, and other factors within milliseconds. Its SIPS mechanism is key to ensuring continuous active power output.
Under the SIPS Grid Services Contract, WSB must ensure the availability of 700 MW of battery capacity during specific time periods. At these times, Transgrid will signal the BESS to support the grid.
This supporting generation includes hydropower, photovoltaic, or wind turbines in New England and the Snowy regions of New South Wales, enabling grid balancing by curtailing output.
The SIPS network comprises 19 Transgrid sites across New South Wales, monitoring 36 transmission lines for faults. The system control platform issues charging and discharging commands to WSB when potential line overloads are detected.
Over the next decade, Australia will need to add utility-scale BESS capacity to fill the gap in the National Grid (NEM) caused by the closure of approximately 11 GW of coal-fired power plants, including the 2.8 GW Eraring in New South Wales, the 1.4 GW Yallourn in Victoria, and the 700 MW Callide B in Queensland.
AEMO predicts that to achieve its 2050 net zero target, Australia will need at least 49 GW of energy storage capacity, including large-scale batteries, pumped hydro, and virtual power plants (VPPs).
With the growing demand for artificial intelligence and cloud data centers, Australia currently has approximately 200 data centers, and their load requirements are still uncertain.
Australia has surpassed the UK, ranking behind China and the US in terms of large-scale energy storage capacity, with a total of 14 GW/37 GWh of projects in or near financial close. This makes it the first country in the world to have over 1 GWh of utility-scale energy storage per million people.
With 14 GW/37 GWh of large-scale battery storage in or near financial close, Australia now ranks as the world's third-largest large-scale energy storage market, behind only China and the US. This reflects the capacity expected to come online over the next two years. Australia's battery project pipeline surged by 45 GW in a single year, from 109 GW in August 2024 to 154 GW a year later.
Australia is also the first country in the world to achieve over 1 GWh of utility-scale battery capacity per million people, far ahead of China and the US, both of which have less than 400 MWh of storage per million people.
The above data comes from the "Utility-Scale Battery Market Review - Australia, August 2025" released by independent research firm Rystad Energy.
David Dixon, senior analyst for Australian renewable energy research at Rystad, told pv magazine that while utility-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS) are a major success story for Australia's renewable energy sector, the country shouldn't have been the world's third-largest market.
According to the Australian Energy Market Operator's (AEMO) "Electricity Statement of Opportunities (ESOO)" for August 2025, actual electricity consumption in the country is projected to increase by 28% over the next decade.
The report shows that electricity consumption will be approximately 178 terawatt-hours in the 2024-25 fiscal year and is expected to reach 229 terawatt-hours by the 2034-35 fiscal year. AEMO's National Electricity Market Project Access Scorecard, released for the quarter ending June 2025, shows an accelerating pace of large-scale battery grid integration: During this period, 10 energy storage projects totaling 2.4 GW were approved, 6 projects totaling 866 MW were registered, and 3 projects totaling 485 MW were fully operational.
AEMO CEO Daniel Westerman stated that given the significant amount of fossil fuel generation capacity set to retire over the next decade, the timely delivery of new energy storage, generation, and transmission facilities, as well as the enhancement of behind-the-meter energy resources, are critical to ensuring power system reliability.
New energy storage investment is projected to exceed AU$21 billion (approximately US$14 billion) by 2030, supported by the Australian government's Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS). The sector is expected to be dominated by local utilities, with a small number of international developers dominating BESS investment and ownership in Australia. Active companies include clean energy developer Neoen, which completed grid commissioning of its 270 MW/540 MWh Western Darling Downs BESS Phase 2 project in September 2025, six weeks ahead of schedule.
Australian large-scale battery developer Akaysha Energy is also developing 4 GWh of BESS projects nationwide and has a 13 GWh pipeline, including the AU$1 billion (US$650 million) 850 MW/1.6 GWh Waratah Super Battery (WSB) project.
Developed, managed, and operated by Akaysha for the New South Wales (NSW) state-owned enterprise EnergyCo, the project comprises 3,598 lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery containers at the decommissioned Munmorra coal power station on the NSW Central Coast, 100 kilometers north of Sydney.
With support from partners including South Australian engineering company CPP, New South Wales transmission provider Transgrid, US BESS company Powin, and Spanish electronics company Eks Energy, Akaysha completed grid connection and registration for its first phase (350 MW/700 MWh) in August 2025.
Once fully operational, the project will provide at least 700 MW of continuous active power capacity and at least 1.4 GWh of usable energy storage. At an average of 21 kWh per household per day, this is enough energy to power 970,000 households for one hour, or 80,000 households for a full day. The facility is equipped with 288 Hitachi inverters, 144 medium-voltage transformers from Wilsons Transformers in Melbourne, and 3,598 Chinese-made battery cells (70% from Ruipu Lanjun and 30% from EVE Energy).
Testing and commissioning of the Waratah Battery began in early September 2025, moving it toward commercialization and providing a System Integrated Protection Scheme (SIPS) for the New South Wales power grid, ensuring power supply security for Sydney and the nearby cities of Newcastle and Wollongong.
The Waratah Super Battery is capable of responding to disturbances to the national grid caused by lightning strikes, wildfires, and other factors within milliseconds. Its SIPS mechanism is key to ensuring continuous active power output.
Under the SIPS Grid Services Contract, WSB must ensure the availability of 700 MW of battery capacity during specific time periods. At these times, Transgrid will signal the BESS to support the grid.
This supporting generation includes hydropower, photovoltaic, or wind turbines in New England and the Snowy regions of New South Wales, enabling grid balancing by curtailing output.
The SIPS network comprises 19 Transgrid sites across New South Wales, monitoring 36 transmission lines for faults. The system control platform issues charging and discharging commands to WSB when potential line overloads are detected.
Over the next decade, Australia will need to add utility-scale BESS capacity to fill the gap in the National Grid (NEM) caused by the closure of approximately 11 GW of coal-fired power plants, including the 2.8 GW Eraring in New South Wales, the 1.4 GW Yallourn in Victoria, and the 700 MW Callide B in Queensland.
AEMO predicts that to achieve its 2050 net zero target, Australia will need at least 49 GW of energy storage capacity, including large-scale batteries, pumped hydro, and virtual power plants (VPPs).
With the growing demand for artificial intelligence and cloud data centers, Australia currently has approximately 200 data centers, and their load requirements are still uncertain.
