Australia Has $32.5bn of Clean Energy Projects Funded or Being Built
The Clean Energy Council says wind, solar and battery projects worth $32.5 billion are financed or under construction, and 2.6 GW reached a final investment decision in the first half of 2026.
Wind, solar and battery projects worth $32.5 billion are either financed or under construction in Australia, according to the Clean Energy Council (CEC). The industry body put the figure in its bi-annual investment report, released on Monday.
In the first half of 2026, 12 large-scale renewable projects totalling 2.6 gigawatts (GW) reached a final investment decision. That already tops the 2.3 GW recorded across all of 2025. Since the end of June, five CIS-backed wind farms, with a combined 1,533 MW, have reached a final investment decision or started construction. The CEC expects more before the end of the year.
Capacity switched on
New generation of 1.4 GW was commissioned in the half-year, including Stage 1 of Victoria's 756 MW Golden Plains wind farm. The rolling average for commissioned capacity rose to 912 MW, its highest since early 2022 and 56 per cent above a year earlier. A further eight projects totalling 1.9 GW began construction.
Nine storage projects with 2.3 GW and 7.1 gigawatt-hours (GWh) were commissioned, which is more than the 5.1 GWh installed in the whole of 2025. Over three-quarters of all utility-scale storage energy capacity commissioned since 2017 has come online in the past 18 months. Another 13 storage projects, totalling 1.6 GW and 6.5 GWh, reached financial close. The same period of 2025 saw 6.6 GWh.
Pipeline by state
The CEC counts 141 projects that have reached financial close or begun construction. The storage pipeline, at 12.6 GW, is larger than the 11.7 GW pipeline for renewable generation.
Queensland holds the biggest share of pipeline investment, at $9.6 billion, with 4.5 GW of generation capacity. It also accounts for half of the onshore wind pipeline, at 2.5 GW. This is the case even though the state's LNP government has been pivoting back to fossil fuels. New South Wales has the largest storage pipeline, at 4.3 GW and 11.2 GWh. It also has the 414 MW Uungula wind farm, the only onshore wind farm now under construction in the state.
CEC chief executive Jackie Trad said the growth in generation and storage is already putting downward pressure on power prices. Wholesale electricity prices averaged $74 per megawatt-hour in the June quarter, down nearly 50 per cent on the same period of 2025. The regulated reference price for households has fallen 3.4 per cent in New South Wales and south-east Queensland and about 5 per cent in Victoria. The Australian Energy Regulator credited those falls to more wind and battery generation and less reliance on gas and hydro in the evening peak.
The CEC added that wholesale costs are only one part of a bill, and network costs are still rising in some regions. Trad said that keeping the momentum going will take predictable approvals, timely transmission and long-term revenue certainty.
Source: Clean Energy Council