Western Australia has secured a significant share of a national renewable energy expansion, with the federal government awarding contracts for 1.9 gigawatts of renewable generation and 3.7 gigawatt-hours of battery storage capacity under the latest rounds of its Capacity Investment Scheme, valued at approximately $5 billion. The awarded projects are designed to strengthen WA’s electricity supply as the state continues phasing out coal-fired power in favour of a more renewable-dominated grid.
Officials project the awarded projects will generate more than 7,000 construction jobs during the build phase, alongside approximately 500 ongoing long-term positions once the projects are completed and move into operations and maintenance, adding meaningfully to WA’s already substantial renewable energy construction workforce.
What Was Awarded
The renewable generation component, awarded through Tender 5, included contracts for seven major projects comprising six wind farms and one hybrid solar-battery development. Neoen Australia secured two wind projects named Yathroo and Narrogin, while other successful proponents included Shell Energy, SynergyRED, Tilt Renewables and Zephyr Energy. A standout among the awarded projects was Trina Solar’s Killawarra Hybrid Project, combining 350 megawatts of solar capacity with 2.1 gigawatt-hours of battery storage, the only solar-plus-storage project selected in this funding round.
A separate dispatchable energy capacity round, Tender 6, awarded contracts for three large-scale battery storage projects with a combined capacity of nearly 3.7 gigawatt-hours, developed by companies including Enpowered and Plenar, adding significant grid-stabilising storage capacity to complement the newly contracted generation assets.
Why the Mix of Wind, Solar and Storage Matters
Energy planners have consistently emphasised that a diversified mix of wind, solar and storage assets, rather than reliance on a single renewable technology, provides the most reliable pathway to maintaining grid stability as coal generation is progressively retired from WA’s South West Interconnected System. Battery storage in particular plays a critical role in smoothing the intermittency inherent to wind and solar generation, storing excess renewable energy generated during peak production periods for release when generation naturally dips.
Building on WA’s Existing Renewable Momentum
The awarded projects add to WA’s already substantial renewable energy build-out, which has included the state-owned Kwinana Battery Energy Storage System, WA’s biggest battery, and previous record-breaking renewable energy penetration on the state’s main electricity grid. That existing momentum has positioned WA to compete effectively for federal Capacity Investment Scheme funding, given the scheme rewards jurisdictions with credible project pipelines and supportive state-level regulatory settings.
Regional Economic Benefits
Many of the awarded wind and solar projects, including those in the Wheatbelt region around Yathroo and Narrogin, are located in regional WA, bringing significant construction employment and ongoing operational activity to areas that have not traditionally been centres of the state’s energy generation infrastructure. Local communities hosting these projects stand to benefit from construction-phase economic activity alongside longer-term land lease payments and, in some cases, community benefit funds negotiated as part of project approval processes.
What Comes Next
With contracts now awarded, the successful proponents face the task of progressing their projects through final approvals, financing and construction, a process typically spanning several years before new generation and storage capacity begins contributing to WA’s grid. For a state pursuing an ambitious renewable energy transition alongside its parallel hydrogen and critical minerals processing ambitions, this latest round of Capacity Investment Scheme awards represents a substantial, concrete step toward the more renewable-dominated electricity system WA has committed to building over the coming decade.
