Australia's ESS Hits Record Quarter as Renewable Investment Slows in Q3 2025: Report

The region saw the commissioning of three generation projects totaling 104 MW in Q3 2025, while one 27 MW generation project secured a financial commitment during the period, with an 80 MW renewable electricity generation pipeline under construction.

Australia’s Clean Energy Council’s latest report for the third quarter (Q3) has revealed that energy storage projects continued to charge ahead, setting new records. In contrast, momentum for renewable energy investment activity slowed for large-scale electricity generation.

Currently, Australia is building storage rapidly, but without faster investment and approvals for new renewable generation, this could result in broader supply-side constraints for clean energy projects. In Q3 2025, the region saw the commissioning of three generation projects totalling 104 MW, while one 27 MW generation project secured a financial commitment during the period. At the same time, there are currently 80 renewable electricity generation projects in the financial commitment or under-construction pipeline, representing 12.4 GW of capacity.

Slowdown in New Generation Projects

Meanwhile, Australia 2025 saw a slowdown in momentum for new generation projects in Australia, with just 1.1 GW reaching financial commitment. This trend continued in the quarter, with only one electricity generation project—the Wathagar Solar Farm – Stage 2—representing 27 MW of new capacity, securing financial commitment. This DC project will be used to power the Good Earth Green Hydrogen and Ammonia project in New South Wales.

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Whereas, the rolling quarterly average of generation capacity reaching financial close fell by 34% to 680 MW.

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Surprisingly, no onshore wind farms have been financially committed in 2025, underscoring the impact of lengthy and inconsistent planning, permitting and environmental assessment processes, delays in transmission roll-out, and a lack of long-term offtake and revenue certainty.

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financially generaton committed project
Source: Clean Energy Council

Contrast Between Commitment and Commissioning

The report draws a contrasting picture between the investment committed in 2024 and 2025 and the actual investment realised during this period. For instance, the total investment for generation projects that reached financial close so far in 2025 stands at $960 million, compared with $6.6 billion at the same stage in 2024, highlighting the impact of delays on economies and communities across Australia. With 80 projects representing 12.4 GW of capacity in the pipeline, addressing these issues remains critical.

coomitted investment
Source: Clean Energy Council

Furthermore, the report revealed that Australia currently has 74 committed storage projects—either standalone or hybrid—in the financial commitment or under-construction pipeline. These comprise 13.3 GW / 35.0 GWh of capacity and energy output. This quarter also marked another milestone, with the commissioning of three storage projects totalling 541 MW / 1,766 MWh coming online.

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