The Australian government has opened registrations for Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS) Tender 11, setting the stage to bring in approximately 1.8 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy generation into Western Australia’s Wholesale Electricity Market (WEM).
Bidding for the tender opens on August 27, targeting projects that can achieve operational status by 2030. The rollout aims to satisfy rising electricity demand across the state while safeguarding system reliability during Western Australia’s ongoing clean energy transition.
Tender 11 introduces a 180-megawatt (MW) First Nations Equity and Revenue Sharing Set Aside. This allocation is reserved specifically for projects committing to at least 5 per cent First Nations equity participation or comparable revenue-sharing models.
The latest round also marks the inaugural deployment of the Developer Rating Scheme. Independently administered by Equifax, the rating system evaluates developers on key criteria including financial capacity, project capability, and community engagement. Participation in the assessment process is a prerequisite for developers submitting bids.
In line with previous WA market requirements, successful projects must participate in the state’s Reserve Capacity Mechanism to maintain grid stability as higher volumes of variable renewable energy enter the WEM.
Tender 11 builds directly on previous CIS momentum in Western Australia, where earlier 2026 tenders secured 1.9 GW of generation capacity and 482 MW of storage across 10 distinct projects.
Provided generation and dispatchable capacity targets are met, Tender 11 is expected to mark the final CIS tender conducted within the WEM.
Formal bidding ends October 22, with successful applicants set to be announced in March 2027.